Islamic State leader in Iraq and Syria killed, US says

A elder Islamic State (IS) radical person successful Iraq and Syria has been killed successful an cognition by members of the Iraqi nationalist quality work on with US-led conjugation forces, the Iraqi premier curate has said.

Abdallah Makki Muslih al-Rifa, besides known arsenic Abu Khadija, "was considered 1 of the astir unsafe terrorists successful Iraq and the world", according to Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani.

US President Donald Trump said "he was relentlessly hunted down by our intrepid warfighters".

The US Central Command (Centcom) posted connected X what appeared to beryllium a video of the strike, which it said was carried retired successful Iraq's occidental Al Anbar state connected Thursday.

Abdallah Makki Muslih al-Rifa was the caput of IS's astir elder decision-making assemblage and was liable for operations, logistics, and readying conducted by IS globally, the US Central Command said.

He besides directed a ample information of concern for the group's planetary organisation, Centcom added.

Posting connected his Truth Social platform, President Trump said: "His miserable beingness was terminated, on with different subordinate of ISIS, successful coordination with the Iraqi Government and the Kurdish Regional Government. PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH!"

Abdallah Makki Muslih al-Rifa was recovered dormant alongside 1 different IS operative, Centcom said.

"Both terrorists were wearing unexploded 'suicide vests' and had aggregate weapons," it added.

Centcom and Iraqi forces were capable to place him done a DNA lucifer from DNA collected connected a erstwhile raid wherever helium "narrowly escaped", it added.

Gen Michael Erik Kurilla said: "Abu Khadijah was 1 of the astir important IS members successful the full planetary IS organisation.

"We volition proceed to termination terrorists and dismantle their organizations that endanger our homeland and US, allied and spouse unit successful the portion and beyond."

IS erstwhile held 88,000sq km (34,000sq miles) of territory stretching from north-eastern Syria crossed bluish Iraq and imposed its brutal regularisation connected astir 8 cardinal people.

Iraq declared the decision of IS successful December 2017 and the radical was driven from its past portion of territory successful 2019.

However militants and sleeper cells proceed to person a beingness successful assorted parts of the state and transportation retired sporadic attacks against Iraq's service and police.