US strikes al Qaeda-affiliated leader in Syria
By Barbara Starr and Oren Liebermann, CNN
The US carried out a strike in Syria on Monday targeting a senior leader of Hurras al-Din, an al Qaeda-affiliated terrorist organization, according to a statement from US Central Command.
The US is “highly confident” that the strike, carried out from a drone, killed Abu Hamzah al Yemeni, a US official with knowledge of the operation told CNN. Al Yemeni was traveling alone on a motorcycle in the Idlib providence in northwest Syria when he was hit, Central Command said, and an initial review of the strike indicates there were no civilian casualties.
There was no need to notify the Russians using the deconfliction line over Syria, the official said.
Two weeks ago, the US-led coalition arrested a senior ISIS leader in Aleppo in northern Syria, east of Monday’s strike. The US identified the detainee as Hani Ahmed al-Kurdi, an experienced bomb maker who rose to become one of the top leaders of ISIS in Syria. The US said he “was responsible for coordinating terrorist activities across the region.”
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