US strike kills senior ISIS leader in Syria, US Central Command says
By Mary Kay Mallonee and Helen Regan, CNN
A US strike in Syria has killed a senior ISIS leader who planned attacks into Europe, United States Central Command said in a statement.
The strike, carried out on Monday, was a “unilateral” US operation that killed Khalid ‘Aydd Ahmad al-Jabouri, CENTCOM said in the statement posted to Twitter.
Al-Jabouri was a senior ISIS figure who “was responsible for planning ISIS attacks into Europe and developed the leadership structure for ISIS,” CENTCOM said.
No civilians were killed or injured in the strike, according to CENTCOM.
“ISIS continues to represent a threat to the region and beyond,” CENTCOM commander, Gen. Erik Kurilla, said in the statement. “Though degraded, the group remains able to conduct operations within the region with a desire to strike beyond the Middle East.”
Al-Jabouri’s death will “temporarily disrupt the organization’s ability to plot external attacks,” the statement said.
The US said it was committed to the campaign to defeat ISIS and said its operations “alongside partner forces in Iraq and Syria continues.”
The development comes just over a month after the US military and Syrian Democratic Forces conducted a helicopter raid in Syria that killed another senior ISIS leader, Hamza al-Homsi.
Four US troops, as well as a working dog, were wounded during the raid when there was an “explosion,” CENTCOM said. Officials told CNN that US forces were “close to” al-Homsi when the explosion happened, killing al-Homsi and wounding the US service members.
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