drone strike: A US drone strike in Syria killed a leader of the Islamic State group, hours after the same MQ-9 Reaper drone was harassed by Russian military jets over the western part of the country, according to the Defense Department.
A US defense official said three Reapers were hovering above on Friday and searching for the terrorist.
The drone struck and killed Usama al-Muhajir, who was riding a motorcycle in the Aleppo area, the official said, who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe details of the military operation.
The official said al-Muhajir was in northwestern Syria at the time of the attack, although he usually operated in the east.
“It was not immediately clear how the US military confirmed that the person killed was al-Muhajir; No other details were given,” he said.
In a statement on Sunday, US Central Command said there was no indication of any civilian casualties in the attack.
The army was assessing reports that a civilian may have been injured.
Friday was the third day in a row that US officials complained that Russian fighter jets conducted unsafe and harassing flights around US drones in the region.
What did the Central Command head of the US Air Force say?
The head of US Air Force Central Command, Lt. Gen. Alex Grinkevich, said in a statement that during Friday’s encounter, Russian planes “conducted 18 non-professional close sorties, which caused the MQ-9s to react to avoid unsafe situations.” fell”.
The US military said the first confrontation occurred on Wednesday morning when Russian military aircraft “engaged in unsafe and unprofessional behaviour” as three US MQ-9 drones were conducting a mission against IS.
The US military said on Thursday that Russian fighter jets flew over Syria in an “incredibly unsafe and unprofessional manner” against both French and American aircraft.
Colonel Michael Andrews, spokesman for Air Force Central Command, said Thursday’s incident lasted about an hour and included close fly-bys by an Su-34 and an Su-35 that deployed flares directly at the MQ-9.
US officials said the drones were unarmed in previous flights, but on Friday they were carrying weapons as they hunted al-Muhajir.
“We have made it clear that we are committed to the defeat of ISIS across the region,” General Eric Kurila, commander of US Central Command, said in the statement.
(with PTI inputs)
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