Wednesday 8 February 2017
United States says it killed 11 al-Qaeda operatives in Syria air strikes
US forces killed 11 members of al-Qaeda in two air strikes near Idlib in Syria, this month, including a former ally of Osama Bin Laden, the Pentagon said.
Captain Jeff Davis, a spokesman, said 10 operatives were killed in a single strike on 3 February.
A second strike on 4 February killed Abu Hani al-Masri, who had close ties to the late al-Qaeda leader, he said.
Al-Masri is said to have set up and run al-Qaeda training camps in Afghanistan during the 1980s and 1990s.
He also had close ties to Ayman al-Zawahiri, who became the leader of al-Qaeda when Bin Laden was killed by US forces in 2011.
"These strikes disrupt al-Qaeda's ability to plot and direct external attacks targeting the US and our interests worldwide," said Capt Davis.
Al-Qaeda's influence in Syria operates largely through an affiliate jihadist group, Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, formerly known as al-Nusra Front.
The group announced in mid-2016 that it was no longer affiliated with any external group, prompting speculation that it had cut ties with al-Qaeda, although the latter group was not mentioned by name.
It is thought that the leadership structure of Fateh al-Sham is still intertwined with al-Qaeda.
A US operation against al-Qaeda in Yemen last week - the first military action authorised by new president Donald Trump - resulted in the death of a Navy Seal and up to 16 civilians, including children, according to reports.
Mr Trump's administration declared the operation a success, saying it had yielded valuable intelligence.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
-
The sensational Politician/Musician, Dino Melaye, lawmaker representing Kogi west senatorial district, seems not to be bothered about the ...
-
Barack Obama 's estranged brother has finally been verified on Twitter after suspicions his posts were from a parody account – and has...
-
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has seized another property from George Turnah, a godson to former President Goodluck Jonatha...
No comments:
Post a Comment