WASHINGTON, July 12 (Reuters) – The leader of the Islamic State in Syria, one of the top five leaders of the militant group, has been killed in a U.S. airstrike, the U.S. military said Tuesday.
In a statement, the U.S. Central Command said Maher al-Agal had been killed in a drone attack in northwestern Syria and one of his collaborators was seriously injured.
“This operation was extensively planned to ensure its successful execution. An initial review indicates that there were no civilian casualties,” the statement added.
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He said al-Agal was responsible for developing ISIS networks outside of Iraq and Syria.
Reuters had previously reported the murder, citing US officials.
It would once again be the efforts of the Islamist insurgent group to reorganize as a guerrilla force after losing large tracts of territory.
The United States has about 900 troops in Syria, most in the east of the country divided by a decade of civil war, although the administration of President Joe Biden has not yet detailed its long-term plan for the mission. of eight years.
The Syrian Civil Defense, a humanitarian organization operating in opposition-controlled areas, said an unidentified drone aimed a motorcycle at the village of Khaltan in the northern countryside of the Aleppo region, and kill two people.
In February, the top Islamic State leader was blown up during a U.S. military incursion into Syria.
At the height of its power between 2014 and 2017, Islamic State ruled millions of people and claimed or inspired attacks on dozens of cities around the world.
Its leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, declared a caliphate a quarter of Iraq and Syria in 2014, before being assassinated in a U.S. special forces raid in northwestern Syria in 2019 when the group sank.
The US-led coalition fighting Islamic State said in mid-2019, after the group’s defeat on the battlefield, that it retained between 14,000 and 18,000 members, including 3,000 foreigners, although the exact figures are as difficult as ISIS itself.
“ISIS continues to pose a threat to the United States and its partners in the region,” a U.S. Central Command spokesman said in the statement on the drone attack.
Analysts say many local fighters may have returned to normal life, ready to reappear when an opportunity arises.
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Report by Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali. Additional report by Maya Gebeily in Beirut; Editing by Jonathan Oatis, Howard Goller and Mark Heinrich
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