The U.S. military conducted a strike on Monday against an individual whom it described as a “senior leader” of an al Qaeda affiliate in Syria.
U.S. Central Command, which oversees the Middle East, said in a statement Monday that the kinetic strike in Idlib province targeted Abu Hamzah al Yemeni, a senior leader of Hurras al Din. It did not mention whether he was killed in the strike, though the statement did note he was “traveling alone on a motorcycle at the time of the strike.”
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There were no initial indications of civilian casualties, the military said.
“Violent extremist organizations, including Al Qaeda-aligned organizations such as Hurras al-Din, continue to present a threat to America and our allies. Al Qaeda-aligned militants use Syria as a safe haven to coordinate with their external affiliates and plan operations outside of Syria,” the statement reads. “The removal of this senior leader will disrupt Al Qaeda’s ability to carry out attacks against U.S. citizens, our partners, and innocent civilians around the world.”
The Defense Department publicly disclosed three other strikes in Syria last fall. A similar strike was conducted on Dec. 3, and there were reports of civilian casualties. CENTCOM completed an investigation into the strike, a spokesperson told the Washington Examiner last month, though the findings are undergoing declassification through the Freedom of Information Act process.
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The U.S. military killed Abdul Hamid al Matar, whom Army Maj. John Rigsbee, a CENTCOM spokesman, described as a “senior al Qaeda leader” on Oct. 22, and the United States previously targeted a different al Qaeda “senior” leader a month earlier.
