The U.S. military killed a senior Islamic State leader in Syria who was responsible for planning the terror group’s attacks in Europe, according to Central Command.
Khalid ‘Aydd Ahmad al Jabouri, whom CENTCOM described as being “responsible for planning ISIS attacks into Europe and developed the leadership structure for ISIS,” was killed in the “unilateral strike” on Monday.
“ISIS continues to represent a threat to the region and beyond,” Gen. Michael “Erik” Kurilla said in a statement. “Though degraded, the group remains able to conduct operations within the region with a desire to strike beyond the Middle East.”
Jabouri’s death will “temporarily disrupt the organization’s ability to plot external attacks,” CENTCOM added.
The U.K.-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitor, said on Monday that one person was killed in a drone strike, which fits with CENTCOM reporting that there were no civilian casualties in the strike.
Jabouri was targeted and killed near his home while he was walking and talking on the phone, SOHR reported.
The White Helmets organization tweeted that a man was killed by the strike on the outskirts of the town of Killi, in Idlib province.
“Our teams responded and took the injured person to Bab Al-Hawa Hospital, where he died,” it added.
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CENTCOM has conducted dozens of strikes and operations in Syria to degrade ISIS’s ability to plan and execute attacks against U.S. forces and interests. It conducted an operation on Feb. 16 that resulted in the death of another “senior leader,” Hamza al Homsi, while four U.S. service members and a working dog were injured in an explosion during the mission.
Kurilla has maintained in statements and testimony in recent months that while these missions continue to degrade ISIS’s ability, the ideology “remains uncontained and unconstrained.”
