An American air attack in the west of Iraq killed on Thursday the head of global Operations of the ISIS that also served as the second in command of ISIS, Abdallah Makki Muslih al-Rifai, also known as “Abu Khadijah”, along with another ISIS agent, US officials confirmed.
On Thursday, the forces of the Central Command of the United States, in cooperation with Iraqi intelligence and security forces, carried out a precision air attack in the province of Al Anbar, Iraq, which killed Abu Khadijah, according to a Centcom statement.
“As EMIR of the most important Decision Branch of ISIS, Abu Khadijah maintained responsibility for operations, logistics and planning carried out by ISIS worldwide, and directs a significant part of finance for the global organization of the group,” the authorities said.
FILE Photo: The Pentagon building is seen in Arlington, Virginia, US October 9, 2020. Reuters/Carlos Barria/File Photo
Carlos Barria/Reuters
After the strike, the forces of Centcom and Iraqi moved to the strike site and found the two bodies, who used “suicidal vests” without exploiting and had multiple weapons, said Centcom.
Centcom and Iraqi forces were able to identify Abu Khadijah through a DNA DNA match collected in an anterior raid where Abu Khadijah escaped by little, the authorities confirmed.
“Abu Khadijah was one of the most important ISIS members of the entire global ISIS organization. We will continue killing the terrorists and dismantling their organizations that threaten our homeland and allied personnel and an associated staff in the region and beyond, ”said General Michael Erik Kurilla, commander, central command of the United States.”
