The US military said it carried out a strike in the Syrian province of Idleb on Monday June 27 against a leader of the jihadist group Hurras al-Din, close to al-Qaeda.
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"
Abu Hamzah al-Yemeni was traveling alone on a motorbike during the strike
," said the central command of the American army (Centcom) in a press release, ensuring that it had no indications of civilian casualties.
"
The removal of this senior leader will disrupt al-Qaeda's ability to carry out attacks against American citizens, our partners, and innocent civilians around the world
," Centcom said.
US authorities have a "
high degree of confidence
" that the strike, carried out using a drone, killed the jihadist leader, according to an official familiar with the operation quoted by CNN.
This is the second US operation in June targeting a senior jihadist official in Syria.
American forces had already captured Hani Ahmed Al-Kurdi, a leader of the Islamic State (IS) group on June 16 during a raid in the province of Aleppo.
They also killed IS leader Abu Ibrahim al-Hachimi al-Qurachi during an operation in Atme, a region of Idleb province, on February 3.
