Latest news with #AbuKhadija
Shafaq News
24-03-2025
- Politics
- Shafaq News
Iraq arrests eight suspected ISIS members in security operations
Shafaq News/ Iraqi security forces arrested eight suspected members of ISIS in operations across Al-Anbar, Nineveh, and Maysan provinces, the military said on Monday. The arrests were carried out under Article 4 of Iraq's counterterrorism law, and the detainees were handed over to the relevant authorities for legal proceedings. Since the beginning of March, Iraqi forces have detained more than ten ISIS-affiliated members mainly in Saladin and Al-Anbar provinces, and have killed dozens of fighters, including senior figure Abdullah Maki Mishal Mahdi Al-Rifa'I (known as Abu Khadija,). ISIS, which once controlled large swathes of Iraq, was declared territorially defeated in 2017 after a years-long military campaign. However, its sleeper cells continue to stage attacks, particularly in remote and desert areas.
Iraqi News
17-03-2025
- Politics
- Iraqi News
US commends Iraqi Security Forces in fight against ISIS terrorists
Baghdad ( – The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) has recently praised Iraqi Intelligence and Security Forces for their successful operation that led to the arrest of Umm Hussein, a Chechen ISIS terrorist and the wife of ISIS commander Abu Khadija. Abu Khadija, a senior ISIS leader, was killed in a targeted strike on March 13. Umm Hussein, an active member of the terrorist organization, was taken into custody as part of Iraq's continued efforts to dismantle ISIS networks. The operation also resulted in the apprehension of two additional ISIS militants. Iraq remains committed to defeating ISIS and preventing its resurgence. The country's ongoing counterterrorism operations highlight its determination to maintain regional security and stability.
Gulf Insider
16-03-2025
- Politics
- Gulf Insider
Senior ISIS Leader Killed By US-Led Joint Forces Strike In Iraq
Abdallah Maki Mosleh al-Rifai, also known as Abu Khadija, was deputy caliph for ISIS and 'one of the most dangerous terrorists in Iraq and the world,' according to a statement by Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani. 'The Iraqis continue their remarkable victories over the forces of darkness and terrorism,' al-Sudani wrote on social media platform X. Al-Rifai was killed in an airstrike in Anbar Province in western Iraq on March 15, conducted jointly by Iraqi national intelligence and U.S.-led coalition forces. President Donald Trump heralded the strike on his Truth Social media platform as an example of his 'peace through strength' foreign policy platform. 'Today the fugitive leader of ISIS in Iraq was killed,' Trump wrote on Friday. 'He was relentlessly hunted down by our intrepid warfighters … in coordination with the Iraqi Government and the Kurdish Regional Government.' The strike is the third major blow to ISIS in recent months, following U.S.-led strikes against senior ISIS leaders and attack planners in Somalia in February and Syria in December 2024. ISIS, which controlled vast swaths of Iraq and Syria in 2015 and 2016, shifted to an insurgency strategy after losing much of its territory there and quickly expanded in both size and influence throughout much of northern and central Africa. The group remains an influential player among the many Islamist terror networks that have proliferated throughout the Middle East and Africa in the absence of stable governments. Civil leadership in Iraq is concerned about a possible resurgence of the group in the Middle East due to uncertainties about Syria's new government and the withdrawal of U.S. forces from the region. Click here to read more…
Shafaq News
15-03-2025
- Politics
- Shafaq News
US lauds Iraqi capture of ISIS leader's wife
Shafaq News/ On Saturday, US Central Command (CENTCOM) lauded Iraq's intelligence and security forces' capture of Chechen ISIS member Um Hussein, wife of slain leader Abu Khadija. In a statement, CENTCOM called the operation "successful," describing Um Hussein as an "active' ISIS member. The raid also resulted in the detention of other militants. 'This is a testament to Iraq's continued commitment to dismantling ISIS networks and ensuring the safety and security of the region," CENTCOM stated. U.S. Central Command commends Iraqi Intelligence and Security forces on the successful operation leading to the capture and arrest of Chechen ISIS terrorist Umm Hussein, the wife of ISIS leader Abu Khadija, who was killed in a strike on March 13. Umm Hussein has been an active… — U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) March 15, 2025 A day earlier, US President Donald Trump confirmed the death of Abdullah Maki Musleh Al-Rifai, known as Abu Khadija, in a coordinated strike. "Today the fugitive leader of ISIS in Iraq was killed. He was relentlessly hunted down by our intrepid warfighters," Trump announced on Truth Social, crediting the Iraqi government for its role in the mission.
CBS News
15-03-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Leader of ISIS in Iraq and Syria killed in military operation, Pentagon says
The head of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria has been killed in Iraq in an operation by members of the Iraqi national intelligence service along with U.S.-led coalition forces, U.S. Central Command and the Iraqi prime minister announced Friday. "The Iraqis continue their impressive victories over the forces of darkness and terrorism," Prime Minister Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said in a statement posted on X. Abdallah Maki Mosleh al-Rifai, or "Abu Khadija," was "deputy caliph" of the militant group and known as "one of the most dangerous terrorists in Iraq and the world," the statement said. On his Truth Social platform Friday night, President Trump wrote: "Today the fugitive leader of ISIS in Iraq was killed. He was relentlessly hunted down by our intrepid warfighters" in coordination with the Iraqi government and the Kurdish regional government. "PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH!" Trump posted. CENTCOM reported in a social media post that Abu Khadija was killed in a "precision airstrike" Thursday in Iraq's Al Anbar Province in an operation involving Iraqi intelligence and CENTCOM forces. A second ISIS operative was also killed in the strike. Aerial video of the strike was also released. Following the airstrike, U.S. and Iraqi forces moved in to find both deceased terrorists wearing unexploded suicide vests and armed with multiple weapons, CENTCOM said. Abu Khadijah was identified using DNA testing which had been collected during a previous raid which he had escaped. "Abu Khadijah was one of the most important ISIS members in the entire global ISIS organization," said Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla, commander of CENTCOM, in a statement. "We will continue to kill terrorists and dismantle their organizations that threaten our homeland and U.S., allied and partner personnel in the region and beyond." The announcement came on the same day as the first visit by Syria's top diplomat to Iraq, during which the two countries pledged to work together to combat the Islamic State. Iraqi Foreign Minister Fouad Hussein said at a news conference that "there are common challenges facing Syrian and Iraqi society, and especially the terrorists of IS." He said the officials had spoken "in detail about the movements of ISIS, whether on the Syrian-Iraqi border, inside Syria or inside Iraq" during the visit. Hussein referred to an operations room formed by Syria, Iraq, Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon at a recent meeting in Amman to confront IS, and said it would soon begin work. The relationship between Iraq and Syria is somewhat fraught after the fall of former Syrian President Bashar Assad. Al-Sudani came to power with the support of a coalition of Iran-backed factions, and Tehran was a major backer of Assad. The current interim president of Syria, Ahmad al-Sharaa, was previously known as Abu Mohammed al-Golani and fought as an al-Qaida militant in Iraq after the U.S. invasion of 2003, and later fought against Assad's government in Syria. But Syrian interim Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani focused on the historic ties between the two countries. "Throughout history, Baghdad and Damascus have been the capitals of the Arab and Islamic world, sharing knowledge, culture and economy," he said. Strengthening the partnership between the two countries "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 the visit come at a time when Iraqi officials are anxious about an Islamic State resurgence in the wake of the fall of Assad in Syria. While Syria's new rulers — led by the Islamist former insurgent group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham — have pursued Islamic State cells since taking power, some fear a breakdown in overall security that could allow the group to stage a resurgence. The U.S. and Iraq announced an agreement last year to wind down the military mission in Iraq of an American-led coalition fighting the Islamic State group by September 2025, with U.S. forces departing some bases where they have stationed troops during a two-decade-long military presence in the country. When the agreement was reached to end the coalition's mission in Iraq, Iraqi political leaders said the threat of the Islamic State was under control and they no longer needed Washington's help to beat back the remaining cells. But the fall of Assad in December led some to reassess that stance, including members of the Coordination Framework, a coalition of mainly Shiite, Iran-allied political parties that brought current Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammad Shia al-Sudani to power in late 2022.
