'Islamic State' head in Iraq and Syria killed in strike

The Iraqi prime minister said the head of the "Islamic State" in Iraq and Syria was killed in an operation run by Iraqi intelligence and US-led coalition troops.

The leader of the so-called "Islamic State" (IS) in Iraq and Syria was killed in an operation led by Iraqi intelligence with US-led coalition troops, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani announced on Friday.

"The Iraqis continue their dazzling victories over the forces of darkness and terrorism," al-Sudani said in a statement posted on X. 

"The heroes of the Iraqi National Intelligence Service, with the support and coordination of the Joint Operations Command and the International Coalition Forces, were able to kill the terrorist Abdullah Maki Musleh al-Rifai, nicknamed (Abu Khadija)," the statement read.

US President Donald Trump confirmed the kill in a post on his own social media platform Truth Social.

"He was relentlessly hunted down by our intrepid warfighters. His miserable life was terminated, along with another member of ISIS, in coordination with the Iraqi Government and the Kurdish Regional Government. PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH!” he wrote.

What do we know about the operation?

While the two leaders did not divulge any details of the operation in their brief statements. The Associated Press reported that the operation was carried out by an airstrike in western Iraq's Anbar province. The news agency cited a security official with knowledge of the matter.

A second official said the operation took place on Thursday night but that the militant leader's death was confirmed on Friday.

The announcement came as Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani was visiting Iraq for the first time since the Assad regime was toppledin December. The two discussed the political stability and security of both countries and pledged to work together to counter the "Islamic State," which is also referred to as ISIS.

Speaking at a news conference, Iraqi Foreign Minister Fouad Hussein said the officials had spoken "in detail about the movements of ISIS, whether on the Syrian-Iraqi border, inside Syria or inside Iraq."

He further referred to an operations room formed by Syria, Iraq, Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon to confront IS, and said it would soon begin work.

Edited by: Sean Sinico