U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters before boarding Air Force One as he departs from Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, U.S., March 14, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque REFILE - REMOVING "D.C".
President Donald Trump on Friday night declared a fugitive leader of ISIS was "relentlessly hunted down" and killed.
"Today the fugitive leader of ISIS in Iraq was killed," Trump announced on his 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!"
Trump's proclamation comes as Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani praised members of the Iraqi national intelligence service along with U.S.-led coalition forces.
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“The Iraqis continue their impressive victories over the forces of darkness and terrorism,” Al-Sudani wrote in a statement on X.
Al-Sudani called Abdallah Maki Mosleh al-Rifai, or “Abu Khadija,” a deputy caliph of the militant group, “one of the most dangerous terrorists in Iraq and the world."
Al-Rifai was killed by an airstrike in Anbar province in western Iraq, The Associated Press reported.
The Islamic State is a violent Sunni jihadist group that bills itself as a caliphate and claims religious authority over all Muslims. It was inspired by al Qaida before being publicly expelled from that terrorist group.
At its peak, ISIS controlled an area of about 8 million people and enforced a strict interpretation of Islamic law.