A leading al-Qaeda member was killed in a US air strike on the terrorist network.
Tampa - The US military announced in a report on Friday (October 22nd, 2021) that it had eliminated a leading member of the terrorist organization Al-Qaeda.
According to this, an MQ-9 armed drone was used in an air strike in the area around Suluk in northwest Syria *.
The name of the al-Qaeda leader who was killed is Abdul Hamid al-Matar.
According to the military, there is no evidence that civilians were harmed in the attack.
In the report, the US military justified the attack by stating that al-Qaeda continues to pose a threat to the USA * and its allies.
"Al Qaeda is using Syria as a safe haven in which to rebuild and coordinate with allies," the military said.
US justifies drone attack: Al Qaeda remains a global threat
The threat posed by Syria extends from Syria through Iraq and beyond.
The elimination of this leading member prevents the further planning and implementation of global attacks by the terrorist organization, both in the USA and among its partners.
According to the Pentagon, the USA had already killed an al-Qaeda commander in a US air strike in the Idlib region in northwest Syria at the end of September.
The drone attack on al-Matar came two days after an attack on an air base in southern Syria used by the US-led anti-IS coalition.
In conclusion, the military report said: "The US will continue to target members of al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups who want to harm their homeland."
Around 500,000 people have been killed since the beginning of the civil war in Syria * in 2011.
More than 6.6 million others sought refuge abroad.
(dpa / afp / na)
* fr.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA.
