The leader of the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group in Syria, Maher al-Agal, was killed in a successful counterterrorism operation conducted by the US military and intelligence community that has seriously injured another senior official closely associated with him, President Joe Biden announced on Tuesday.
The raid comes one day before Biden’s announced visit to the Middle East.
The drone strike outside Jindayris, Syria, that has killed al-Agal, one of IS’s top four leaders, targeted two senior IS officials, Pentagon’s Central Command (CENTCOM), the military command covering the Middle East, previously informed in a statement.
The initial review found no civilians were killed as a result of the operation which had an important impact in weakening the terrorist group, Biden noted, significantly degrading its ability to plan, resource, and conduct its operations in the region.
CENTCOM spokesman Col. Joe Buccino stressed that IS continues to represent a threat to the US and partners in the region, noting that the removal of the terrorist groups’ leaders will disrupt its ability to further plot and carry out attacks.
A number of strikes and raids on senior IS personnel has been carried out in northwestern Syria in recent months by the US forces that have reportedly detained an alleged top leader of the IS in a raid last month.
In another raid by the US special forces in February, IS commander Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi killed himself with a suicide vest.
A spokesman for the US-backed faction in Syria’s multi-sided civil war, the so-called Syrian Democratic Forces, underscored on Tuesday that hundreds of IS fighters are still hiding out in areas of northern Syria controlled by Turkish troops.
The jihadist organization’s power and influence have been all but destroyed in recent years from 2015 onwards – although small groups of militants remain active in Syria – by the joint military campaign of the Syrian government and Russia as well as the air campaign by the US and its allies.
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