Intel: US drone strike kills at least 10 at al-Qaeda meeting in Idlib
Some of the dead were reportedly rivals of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham.
A US drone strike killed at least 10 attendees at a meeting in northwest Syria’s opposition-held Idlib province on Thursday, US Central Command said.
The strike hit “a group of al-Qaeda in [Syria] senior leaders meeting near Idlib” and that the group “continues to present a threat to America and our allies,” CENTCOM spokesperson Maj. Beth Riordan said in a statement.
“[Al-Qaeda in Syria] takes advantage of the instability in northwest Syria to establish and maintain safe havens to coordinate terrorist activities. With our allies and partners, we will continue to target al-Qaeda and other terrorist organizations,” it read.
Citing local sources, Washington-based analyst Charles Lister tweeted that 11 people were believed to have been killed in the strike, including a former Jabhat al-Nusra commander.
