Us Officials Say Senior Al-qaeda Affiliate Leader Killed In Syrian Strike

A U.S. airstrike killed a senior al-Qaeda-affiliated leader in Northwest Syria last month, according to U.S. officials. 

The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Saturday that its forces targeted and killed Muhammed Yusuf Ziya Talay, a senior military leader of the Hurras al-Din (HaD), an Al-Qaeda affiliate that is designated as a terrorist organization by the State Department. 

The precision airstrike was carried out on Feb. 23, according to CENTCOM. 

"As we have said in the past, we will continue to pursue relentlessly these terrorists in order to defend our homeland, and U.S., allied, and partner personnel in the region," CENTCOM Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla said in a statement. 

The 12-second video, shared by CENTCOM, shows the airtrike connecting on the left side of the vehicle the U.S. officials believe was driven by Talay.  

The Feb. 23 strike came just two days after another strike in Northwest Syria killed Wasim Tahsin Bayraqdar, a senior leadership facilitator of HaD, CENTCOM said. 

HaD was formed in 2018 after Al-Qaeda and Nusrah Front, a designated terrorist group, broke apart, according to the National Counterterrorism Center (NCC). HaD, which still has access to Al-Qaeda members, primarily operates in the Indlib Province of Northwest Syria.

NCC estimates the group has as many as 2,500 members. 

The latest strike marked the third HaD senior military official being killed in Syria in the last month, NBC News reported on Wednesday.