US confirms killing of senior Al-Qaeda leader in Syria

The United States has confirmed that it has killed a senior Al-Qaeda leader in Syria in a drone strike last month, the Pentagon announced.

On 20 September, the US conducted a drone strike on a target in north-west Syria, hitting a vehicle on a rural road outside the opposition-controlled city of Idlib. While it was reported that the victims were potentially an Al-Qaeda leader and another of the group’s officials, it was not confirmed or identified who the specific target was.

US Central Command (CENTCOM) yesterday confirmed the identity of the target, revealing that he was named Salim Abu-Ahmad. Speaking to the site Military Times, CENTCOM spokesman Major John Rigsbee said: “Salim Abu-Ahmad was responsible for planning, funding, and approving trans-regional al-Qaeda attacks.”

Rigsbee also claimed that there were no indications of civilian casualties caused by the strike, a factor which has become a major concern following the killing of ten Afghan civilians by a US drone strike on Afghanistan in August that was supposedly targeting Daesh militants.

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