A U.S.-led coalition airstrike killed the second-highest-ranking leader of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) Thursday, authorities announced. The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said its forces — together with Iraqi Intelligence and Security Forces — “conducted a precision airstrike in Al Anbar Province,

A senior Islamic State (IS) group leader in Iraq and Syria has been killed in an operation by members of the Iraqi national intelligence service along with US-led coalition forces, the Iraqi prime minister has said.

US forces working with Iraqi intelligence and security services killed a high-profile leader of the Islamic State in an airstrike in western Iraq, according to officials from the two countries.

US Central Command (CENTCOM) forces eliminated ISIS’s second-in-command Abdallah Makki Muslih al-Rifai, also known by his alias “Abu Khadijah,” on Thursday in western Iraq, the organization announced in a post on X/Twitter on Saturday.

The killing comes as the group has been reconstituting in Syria, carrying out more attacks than at any time since it lost control of its territory nearly six years ago.

The head of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria has been killed in a precision air strike by members of the Iraqi national intelligence service along with US-led coalition forces.

The militant known as Abu Khadijah was one of the most important members in the Islamic State’s global organization, according to Centcom.

Abu Khadijah was the second-in-command of ISIS’s global operations and in charge of the terror group’s finances.

The double-tap strike in Iraq's Anbar Province killed Abdallah Makki Muslih al-Rifai, who also served as ISIS's chief of global operations.