Head of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria has been killed, Iraqi PM says

The Associated Press

· Posted: Mar 15, 2025 5:29 AM EDT | Last Updated: 10 minutes ago

The caput of the Islamic State successful Iraq and Syria has been killed successful Iraq successful an cognition by members of the Iraqi nationalist quality work on with U.S.-led conjugation forces, the Iraqi premier curate announced Friday.

"The Iraqis proceed their awesome victories implicit the forces of acheronian and terrorism," Prime Minister Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said successful a connection posted connected X.

Abdallah Maki Mosleh al-Rifai, oregon "Abu Khadija," was "deputy caliph" of the militant radical and arsenic "one of the astir unsafe terrorists successful Iraq and the world," the connection said.

On his Truth Social level Friday night, U.S. President Donald Trump said: "Today the fugitive person of ISIS successful Iraq was killed. He was relentlessly hunted down by our intrepid warfighters" successful co-ordination with the Iraqi authorities and the Kurdish determination government. 

"PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH!" Trump posted.

A information authoritative said the cognition was carried retired by an airstrike successful Anbar province, successful occidental Iraq. A 2nd authoritative said the cognition took spot Thursday nighttime but that al-Rifai's decease was confirmed Friday. They spoke connected information of anonymity due to the fact that they were not authorized to remark publicly.

The announcement came connected the aforesaid time arsenic the archetypal sojourn by Syria's apical diplomat to Iraq, during which the 2 countries pledged to enactment unneurotic to combat ISIS.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Fouad Hussein said astatine a quality league that "there are communal challenges facing Syrian and Iraqi society, and particularly the terrorists of ISIS." He said the officials had spoken "in item astir the movements of ISIS, whether connected the Syrian-Iraqi border, wrong Syria oregon wrong Iraq" during the visit.

Hussein referred to an operations country formed by Syria, Iraq, Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon astatine a caller gathering successful Amman to face ISIS, and said it would soon statesman work.

The narration betwixt Iraq and Syria is somewhat fraught aft the autumn of erstwhile Syrian President Bashar Assad. Al-Sudani came to powerfulness with the enactment of a conjugation of Iran-backed factions, and Tehran was a large backer of Assad.

The existent interim president of Syria, Ahmad al-Sharaa, was antecedently known arsenic Abu Mohammed al-Golani and fought arsenic an al-Qaeda militant successful Iraq aft the U.S. penetration of 2003, and aboriginal fought against Assad's authorities successful Syria. 

But Syrian interim Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani focused connected the historical ties betwixt the 2 countries.

"Throughout history, Baghdad and Damascus person been the capitals of the Arab and Islamic world, sharing knowledge, civilization and economy," helium said.

Strengthening the concern betwixt the 2 countries "will not lone payment our peoples, but volition besides lend to the stableness of the region, making america little babelike connected outer powers and amended capable to find our ain destiny," helium said.

WATCH | Counterterrorism adept says ISIS is inactive inspiring radical successful Western countries:

The cognition and the sojourn travel astatine a clip erstwhile Iraqi officials are anxious astir an ISIS resurgence successful the aftermath of the autumn of Assad successful Syria.

While Syria's caller rulers — led by the Islamist erstwhile insurgent radical Hayat Tahrir al-Sham — have pursued ISIS cells since taking power, immoderate fearfulness a breakdown successful wide information that could let the radical to signifier a resurgence.

The U.S. and Iraq announced an statement past twelvemonth to upwind down the subject ngo successful Iraq of an American-led conjugation warring the Islamic State radical by September 2025, with U.S. forces departing immoderate bases wherever they person stationed troops during a two-decade-long subject beingness successful the country.

When the statement was reached to extremity the coalition's ngo successful Iraq, Iraqi governmental leaders said the menace of ISIS was nether power and they nary longer needed Washington's assistance to bushed backmost the remaining cells.

But the autumn of Assad successful December led immoderate to reassess that stance, including members of the Coordination Framework, a conjugation of chiefly Shia, Iran-allied governmental parties that brought al-Sudani to powerfulness successful precocious 2022.