New Delhi: The United States (US) Pentagon said on Friday that one of the top al-Qaeda leaders has been killed in Syria in a US drone strike, news agency AFP reported.
Recently, a US base in southern Syria was attacked. Two days after the attack, the US launched a drone strike that killed one of the top leaders of the terrorist organization Al Qaeda.
“A US airstrike today killed senior al-Qaeda leader Abdul Hamid al-Matar in northwestern Syria,” AFP quoted Central Command spokesman Army Major John Rigsby as saying in its report.
He further said that the airstrike was carried out by MQ-9 aircraft and no casualty was reported in the attack.
Emphasizing the killing of the top al-Qaeda leader would lead to disruption within the terrorist organization, he said, “The removal of this senior al-Qaeda leader would hamper the terrorist organization’s ability to further plot and carry out global attacks.” ”
Earlier in September, the US was able to neutralize another al-Qaeda leader, Salim Abu-Ahmad, in an airstrike that was conducted near Idlib in northwestern Syria.
According to Centcom, Salim Abu-Ahmad was responsible for planning, funding and approving trans-regional al-Qaeda attacks.
AFP further quoted Rigsby in its report as, “Al-Qaeda continues to present a threat to the US and our allies. Al-Qaeda continues to build a safe space for rebuilding Syria, coordinating with external allies, and planning external operations.” uses as shelter.”
The ongoing conflict in Syria has claimed the lives of nearly half a million people since 2011 thus creating a battleground state involving foreign forces, militias and jihadists.
(with inputs from AFP)
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