US Airstrike Kills Senior Qaeda Leader In Northwest Syria

Arab World

December 4th, 7:39am

Asharq Al-Awsat

This US Air Force handout photo shows an MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV or drone) flying over the Nevada Test and Training Range on January 14, 2020. © William Rosado, AFP

A Qaeda commander was killed in a US drone strike in northwest Syria Friday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported. SOHR sources reported that the International Coalition against ISIS targeted an unidentified man on a motorcycle on the road to al-Mastuma in Idlib countryside with three missiles, killing him immediately. The London-based war monitor also said that a family of six, including women and children sustained various injuries, as the car they were traveling in was passing near the site of the drone attack. Earlier in October, the US Central Command also reported killing a senior Qaeda leader in a drone strike in northwest Syria. "Abdul Hamid al-Matar was killed in an attack by an MQ-9 Reaper drone," said Army Maj. John Rigsbee, a CENTCOM spokesman, in a statement posted on the command’s website. “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,” said Rigsbee at the time. “Al-Qaeda also uses Syria as a base for threats reaching into Syria, Iraq and beyond."

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3340506/us-airstrike-kills-senior-qaeda-leader-northwest-syria