Washington - Saba:
US President Donald Trump confirmed on Saturday the elimination of the "ISIS leader" in Iraq, while the US military released a video documenting the assassination.
Trump said in a post on the Truth platform, as reported by Russia Today, "Today, the fugitive leader of ISIS was killed in Iraq. He was relentlessly pursued by our brave fighters."
He added, "His miserable life was ended, along with another ISIS member, in coordination with the Iraqi government and the Kurdish Regional Government."
Trump emphasized that "peace is sometimes imposed by force."
Meanwhile, US Central Command (CENTCOM) released a video documenting the assassination and said in a statement on the X platform: "We were able to neutralize the leader of ISIS's external operations, who served as the group's second-in-command."
The statement added: "In cooperation with Iraqi intelligence and security forces, a precision airstrike in Anbar Province, Iraq, resulted in the death of ISIS's second-in-command, operations commander, and emir of the Delegated Committee, Abdullah Makki Musleh al-Rifai, known as Abu Khadija, as well as an ISIS operative."
The statement noted that "as emir of the Delegated Committee, the highest decision-making body within ISIS, Abu Khadija was responsible for the organization's international operations, logistics, and planning. He also managed a significant portion of ISIS's financing worldwide."
The statement explained that "following the airstrike, U.S. Central Command and Iraqi forces moved to the targeted site, where they found the bodies of two ISIS operatives. Both were wearing unexploded explosive belts and possessed several weapons. The forces were able to identify Abu Khadija through DNA matching that had been collected during a previous raid from which he had survived."
For his part, General Michael Erik Kurilla, Commander of US Central Command, said: "Abu Khadija was one of ISIS's most important leaders internationally. We will continue to eliminate terrorists and dismantle their organizations that threaten our homeland, our American forces, allies, and partners in the region and beyond."
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hogseth congratulated the command on the elimination of the ISIS leader via Twitter, saying: "You always hit the nail on the head."
Earlier, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani announced that Iraqi security forces had killed a senior ISIS leader, particularly responsible for "external operations."
Al-Sudani said via Twitter that Abdullah Makki Musleh al-Rifai, known as Abu Khadija, is one of the most dangerous terrorists in Iraq and the world. He served as the so-called governor of Iraq and Syria for the extremist group and has been targeted by US sanctions since the summer of 2023.
He added that Iraqi security forces were able to kill him "with support and coordination from the Joint Operations Command and the international coalition forces."
It's worth noting that former ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was killed during a US Special Forces raid in northwestern Syria in 2019, as the organization collapsed.
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