The U.S. military eliminated one of the Al-Qaeda leaders in an MQ-9 Reaper airstrike in the northwest of Syria, the U.S. Central Command said in a statement.
“A US airstrike today in northwest Syria killed senior al-Qaeda leader Abdul Hamid al-Matar,” the statement said, adding that the strike was delivered with the use of a drone.
“We have no indications of civilian casualties as a result of the strike, which was conducted using an MQ-9 aircraft,” according to the statement.
“Al-Qaeda continues to present a threat to America and our allies. … The U.S. will continue to target members of al-Qaeda and other terrorist organizations who intend to harm the U.S. homeland,” the statement added.
U.S. Army Major John Rigsbee was quoted in the statement as saying that “The removal of this Al-Qaeda senior leader will disrupt the terrorist organization’s ability to further the plot and carry out global attacks threatening U.S. citizens, our partners, and innocent civilians.”.