Leader of ISIS in Iraq and Syria killed in military operation, Pentagon says

The head of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria has been killed in Iraq in an operation by members of the Iraqi national intelligence service along with U.S.-led coalition forces, U.S. Central Command and the Iraqi prime minister announced Friday.

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

Abdallah Maki Mosleh al-Rifai, or "Abu Khadija," was "deputy caliph" of the militant group and known as "one of the most dangerous terrorists in Iraq and the world," the statement said.