US drone strike kills al-Qaeda affiliate in northwest Syria
The rare drone strike in Idlib province was aimed to disrupt Huras al-Din's ability to stage terror attacks outside Syria, according to the Pentagon.
The United States carried out a drone strike in northwest Syria’s Idlib province on Monday night, killing a senior Huras al-Din official, US Central Command has said.
Abu Hamzah al-Yemeni, a senior leader with Huras al-Din, al-Qaeda’s local branch in Syria, was killed while traveling alone by motorcycle. There were no civilian casualties, according to the US military.
Why it matters: The strike is the first by the United States against an al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria in several months.
In early December, a man the United States identified as senior Huras al-Din official Musab Kinan was killed in a US drone strike while riding a motorbike in Idlib province. Members of his family were reportedly wounded in the strike, and the Pentagon acknowledged that civilians were injured.
