Syria: Senior al-Qaeda leader killed in US drone strike, says Pentagon
A senior al-Qaeda leader was killed in a US drone strike in Syria, the Pentagon said on Friday.
The strike came two days after a base in southern Syria, used by the US-led coalition fighting Islamic State, was assaulted.
"A US air strike 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 other casualties from the strike, he said, adding it was conducted using an MQ-9 aircraft.
"The removal of this al-Qaeda senior leader will disrupt the terrorist organisation's ability to further plot and carry out global attacks," said Rigsbee.
At the end of September, the US killed Salim Abu-Ahmad, another senior al-Qaeda commander in Syria, in an air strike near Idlib in the country's northwest, AFP reported.
Ahmad 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," said Rigsbee.
The ongoing war in Syria has created a complex battlefield involving foreign armies and multiple armed groups.
The war has killed around half-a-million people since starting in 2011 with a brutal crackdown on anti-government protests.
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