BAGHDAD — The leader of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria was killed in Iraq in an operation carried out by Iraqi national intelligence service members and US-led coalition troops, the Iraqi prime minister stated on Friday. “The Iraqis continue their impressive victories over the forces of darkness and terrorism,” Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said in a statement published on X, formerly known as Twitter. Abdallah Maki Mosleh al-Rifai, also known as “Abu Khadija,” was the militant group’s “deputy caliph” and “one of the most dangerous terrorists in Iraq and the world,” according to the statement.

On his Truth Social platform Friday night, US President Donald Trump stated: “Today, the fugitive leader of ISIS in Iraq was killed.” He was aggressively pursued by our intrepid warfighters,” in collaboration with the Iraqi government and the Kurdish regional authority. “PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH!” Trump posted. According to a security officer, the operation was carried out using an airstrike in Anbar province in western Iraq. A second official reported the operation took place Thursday night, but al-Rifai’s death was verified on Friday. They talked on the condition of anonymity because they were not permitted to comment publicly. The statement occurred on the same day that Syria’s top diplomat paid his first visit to Iraq, during which the two countries committed to work together to battle IS.

Hussein mentioned an operations room formed by Syria, Iraq, Turkey, Jordan, and Lebanon to combat IS during a recent conference in Amman, saying it will soon begin operations. The relationship between Iraq and Syria has become strained since the demise of former Syrian President Bashar Assad. Al-Sudani rose to power with the help of a coalition of Iran-backed militias, and Tehran was a strong supporter of Assad. Ahmad al-Sharaa, Syria’s current interim president, was previously known as Abu Mohammed al-Golani. He fought as an al-Qaida fighter in Iraq following the US invasion in 2003, and then against Assad’s administration in Syria.

However, Syrian interim Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani emphasized the two countries’ long-standing connections. “Throughout history, Baghdad and Damascus have been the capitals of the Arab and Islamic world, sharing knowledge, culture and economy,” according to him. Strengthening the two countries’ alliance “will not only benefit our peoples, but will also contribute to the stability of the region, making us less dependent on external powers and better able to determine our own destiny,” he said.

The operation and visit come at a time when Iraqi officials are concerned about an IS comeback following the collapse of Assad in Syria. While Syria’s new rulers, led by the Islamist former insurgent organization Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, have pursued IS cells since assuming power, some fear that a breakdown in overall security could allow the group to resurge. Last year, the United States and Iraq announced an agreement to end an American-led coalition’s military mission in Iraq fighting the Islamic State group by September 2025, with US forces leaving some bases where troops had been stationed during a two-decade military presence in the country.

When the coalition’s mission in Iraq was concluded, Iraqi political officials stated that the threat posed by IS had been contained and that they no longer required Washington’s assistance in defeating the remaining cells. However, the collapse of Assad in December prompted several to reconsider their view, including members of the Coordination Framework, a coalition of primarily Shiite, Iran-allied political parties that brought current Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammad Shia al-Sudani to power in late 2022.