Senior Qaeda Leader Killed in US Drone Strike in Syria

Arab World

October 23rd, 3:56am

Asharq Al-Awsat

An MQ-9 aircraft. AFP file photo

A senior al-Qaeda leader was killed in a US drone strike in Syria, the Pentagon said Friday. The strike comes two days after a base in southern Syria, used by the US-led coalition fighting ISIS, was assaulted. "A US airstrike today in northwest Syria killed senior al-Qaeda leader Abdul Hamid al-Matar," said Central Command spokesman Army Major John Rigsbee in a statement. There were no known casualties from the strike, he said, adding it was conducted using an MQ-9 aircraft. Rigsbee did not say if the US drone strike was carried out in retaliation to the assault on the Tanf base. "The removal of this al-Qaeda senior leader will disrupt the terrorist organization's ability to further plot and carry out global attacks," he said. At the end of September, the Pentagon killed Salim Abu-Ahmad, another senior Al-Qaeda commander in Syria, in an airstrike near Idlib in the country's northwest. He had been responsible for "planning, funding, and approving trans-regional Al-Qaeda attacks," according to Centcom. "Al-Qaeda continues to present a threat to America and our allies. Al-Qaeda uses Syria as a safe haven to rebuild, coordinate with external affiliates, and plan external operations," Rigsbee said.

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