Feb. 17 (UPI) — The U.S. military conducted airstrikes in northwest Syria, killing a senior finance and logistics official of the al-Qaida affiliate Hurras al-Din.
Central Command announced the precision airstrike on Sunday but did not identify the target.
It said the strike was part of CENTCOM’s commitment to working with local partners to “disrupt and degrade” terrorist efforts to attack U.S. civilians and military personnel.
“We will continue to relentlessly pursue terrorists in order to defend our homeland, and U.S. allies, and partner personnel in the region,” Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla, CENTCOM commander, said in a statement.
The strike appears to be the United States’ second of the year in Syria, and follows CENTCOM’s killing of Muhammad Salah al-Za’bir, a key Hurras al-Din figure, on Jan. 30.
Hurras al-Din was formed in Syria in early 2018 by al-Qaida loyalists, according to the Director of National Intelligence, and has between 2,000 and 2,500 fighters.
It was blacklisted by the United States as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist in September 2019.
