A March 13 airstrike in Iraq’s Anbar province by US Central Command (CENTCOM) eliminated Abdallah Makki Muslih al Rifai, a senior leader of the Islamic State (IS) who may have served as the group’s overall leader. Rifai’s position within the Islamic State is in dispute, as some intelligence services believe he was the emir of IS’s General Directorate of Provinces, while others think he may have been the caliph of the global terror group.
CENTCOM said in a statement on March 15 that Rifai, also known as Abu Khadijah, was killed alongside another IS member in the strike. CENTCOM described Rifai as the “Chief of Global Operations for ISIS and the Delegated Committee Emir,” and the second in command of the group. The “Chief of Global Operations” is another term for the emir of the Islamic State’s General Directorate of Provinces (GDP). The head of the GDP is responsible for coordinating the activities of the 12 provinces the jihadist group operates in Asia and Africa, present in countries such as Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, Nigeria, Mali, and the Philippines.
Rafai “maintained responsibility for operations, logistics, and planning conducted by ISIS globally, and directs a significant portion of finance for the group’s global organization,” CENTCOM reported. After the strike, DNA analysis was used to identify the jihadist leader.
President Donald Trump announced that “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.”
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al Sudani issued a statement saying Rifai was “considered one of the most dangerous terrorists in the world,” noting the IS leader held several key positions within the organization. These duties appeared to combine coordinating operations abroad with running IS in Iraq and Syria. One man having so many responsibilities could indicate how few key leaders the group can rely on today.
None of the statements about Rifai’s death indicated the status of the jihadist organization, which many analysts claim is largely defeated in Iraq and Syria. However, Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein, speaking at a press conference in Jordan, said that IS continues to pose an increasing threat.
The Kurdistan Region Security Council (KRSC) noted that the strike on the IS leader came after “years of investigation” and relied on information collected by Kurdistan Regional Government security sources. The KRSC critiqued Sudani’s office for not mentioning the autonomous region’s role.
“This oversight is not a good indication for the future of cooperation between the regional and federal [Iraqi] institutions. The institutions affiliated with the Kurdistan Region Security Council have played an influential role in confronting the threat of terrorists in this region and will continue to effectively perform this duty. It would be better for the federal government to create a more favorable environment for cooperation and coordination for the sake of maintaining peace and stability throughout Iraq.” In contrast, Trump’s statement mentioned the role of the Kurdistan region.
Second in command or caliph?
United Nations Member States have disputed Rifai’s position within the Islamic State. The latest report from the United Nations Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team on February 13 notes the disagreement.
“Member States hold divergent views as to the identity of ISIL (Da’esh) leader Abu Hafs al-Hashimi al-Qurashi,” the Monitoring Team reported, referencing the nom de guerre of the Islamic State’s caliph. “Among possible candidates [for caliph], Abdallah Makki Mosleh Al-Rafi’i […] and Abdul Qadir Mumin [the head of IS’s Karrar office in Somalia] have been identified, owing to their key positions in the General Directorate of Provinces and overall direction” of the group.
The Islamic State has traditionally appointed its caliphs who hail from the Qurashi tribe, which descends from the Prophet Mohammad. Since Mumin is a Somali, some Member States “contested the possibility of a core leader from outside the Iraqi-Syrian region, emphasizing its strategic and ideological importance.”
The Monitoring Team report noted that “the two top [IS] positions are caliph and General Directorate of Provinces head, and the above-mentioned candidates could occupy either.”
Targeting Islamic State senior leaders
The strike on Rifai is one of several blows to the jihadist group in recent years. Islamic State leader Abu Ibrahim al Hashimi al Qurayshi was killed in a 2022 strike in Syria. In April 2023, CENTCOM also eliminated Abd al Hadi Mahmud Haji Ali, a senior leader in Syria. Other key IS members have been killed over the last two years by US forces in Syria and Iraq. For instance, Shahadhah Allawi Salih Ulaywi al Bajjari, one of the group’s leaders in the Kirkuk region, was killed in October 2024.
Friday’s strike is the latest CENTCOM operation targeting terrorist threats in Iraq and Syria. It comes a week after the head of CENTCOM, General Michael Erik Kurilla, visited the region, traveling to Syria but not Iraq. Islamic State cells continue to operate in both countries. On March 6, the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces captured an IS cell leader in Syria. In recent months, the US has also conducted several airstrikes against Hurras al Din, Al Qaeda’s affiliate in Syria.
The war against IS in Iraq has become less intense over the last several years, consisting primarily of targeted raids against the jihadist group’s cells. Iraqi forces take the lead on these operations, sometimes with US support. On February 12, Iraqi Security Forces conducted an airstrike that eliminated five Islamic State operatives, CENTCOM said at the time, while noting it helped enable the strike. CENTCOM continues to characterize IS as a “threat to the region and beyond.”
