US Says Drone Strike in Syria Killed Senior al-Qaeda Figure

 

CENTCOM says al-Qaeda is using Syria as safe haven

by Jason Ditz 

Posted onOctober 22, 2021CategoriesNewsTagsCENTCOM, Syria

CENTCOM issued a statement Friday reporting a drone strike in NW Syria, saying they’d killed Abdul Hamid al-Matar, who they claimed is a “senior all-Qaeda leader.”

As is so often the case when the US kills a wanted man, Matar was not publicized in the past as a major figure in the group. CENTCOM claims he was using Syria as a safe haven, and plotting al-Qaeda’s overseas actions.

Officials say there is no evidence of any civilian casualties in the attack on al-Qaeda. Though a specific site was not named, al-Qaeda is chiefly active in Idlib.

Pentagon officials brought up a recent drone attack against US forces in al-Tanf, Syria, saying that they don’t believe there is any connection between the two strikes. Reports are still pointing to Shi’ites as being involved in that attack.

https://news.antiwar.com/2021/10/22/us-says-drone-strike-in-syria-killed-senior-al-qaeda-figure/