US airstrike kills seven Al-Qaida leaders having DINNER in Syria days after 2nd-in-command is killed in Afghanistan
THE United States believes it has killed seven senior leaders of Al-Qaida in an airstrike carrier out in Syria last week.
According to the U.S. Central Command, the strike was conducted on October 22 as the leaders were meeting near the city of Idlib.
The U.S. believes it has killed seven senior leaders of Al-Qaida in an airstrike carrier out in Syria last week[/caption]
Central Command did not identify the names of the seven leaders believed to be killed[/caption]
A Central Command spokeswoman, Maj. Beth Riordan, did not identify the seven leaders by name.
Riordan added that the killing of these leaders will disrupt the terrorist organization’s potential to pilot and carry out global attacks that threaten the U.S. citizens, its partners, and innocent civilians.
Speaking to the Associated Press, she said. “With our allies and partners, we will continue to target al-Qaida and other terrorist organizations.”
Last week, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that five civilians were also among those killed in the strike.
Al-Qaida has been looking to take advantage of instability in Northwest Syria, creating safe havens to coordinate terrorist activities.
A according to U.S. Central Command, another airstrike was also carried out near Idlib on October 15 to combat this thread.
A U.S.-led coalition is currently present in the eastern half of the country.
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There, its airstrikes have backed Kurdish-led forces battling remnants of the Islamic State group.
According to the Observatory, the Syrian government has regained control of around 70 percent of the country, thanks to backing from key ally Russia in recent military victories.
Since war broke out after the bloody suppression of anti-government protests in 2011, more than 380,000 people have been killed and millions have been displaced from their homes.
Over the weekend, Afghanistan declared the killing of Husam Abd-Al-Ra’uf – an Al-Qaidi leader wanted by the FBI[/caption]