The US military killed an al Qaeda leader in northwestern Syria in an airstrike on Friday, the Pentagon said.
John Rigsbee, a spokesman for the US Central Command, said in a statement that
Abdul Hamid al-Matar was
killed in an attack with an MQ-9 type drone or drone.
"We have no indication of civilian casualties as a result of the attack," Rigsbee added.
The US admits it mistakenly killed a humanitarian worker and nine members of his family in Kabul
Sept.
17, 202100: 37
A month ago, the Pentagon had to admit that a drone bombardment in Afghanistan as the US was pulling troops out of the country had not killed a terrorist, as was initially reported.
The attack killed 10 civilians, seven of them children, "by mistake".
The alleged terrorist was actually a community worker.
To limit Al Qaeda's ability in Syria
Rigsbee said al-Matar's death will disrupt Al-Qaeda's "ability to continue to plot and carry out global attacks that threaten American citizens, our partners and innocent civilians."
According to the Pentagon, Al Qaeda uses the country
as a "haven" to rebuild, coordinate and plan operations
.
"It uses Syria as a base for threats reaching Syria itself, Iraq and beyond," the spokesman said.
In this May 23, 2021 file photo, the Syrian national flag is displayed at a gathering at Omayyid Square in the Syrian capital Damascus.Hassan Ammar / AP
The drone strike came
two days after
a US military post in southern Syria was hit by a coordinated strike that included drones and rockets.
US officials said none of the US troops stationed there were injured or killed.
Last month, the United States also claimed to have killed another senior al Qaeda leader, whom it did not identify, in an aerial bombardment in the northwest of the country.
With information from
The Associated Press
and
Agencia EFE