US drone strike kills Islamic State Syria chief: Pentagon

US drone strike kills Islamic State Syria chief: Pentagon

According to the Pentagon, a US drone strike on Tuesday killed the Syrian branch's leader of the Islamic State extremist group.

Maher al-Agal was murdered and one of his senior aides was critically hurt while riding a motorcycle close to Jindayris in Syria, according to Lieutenant Colonel Dave Eastburn, spokesman for the Pentagon Central Command. The death of Agal from a drone attack was confirmed by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

A motorcycle was the target of a hit outside of Aleppo, according to the Syrian Civil Defense Force, which did not provide any further details about the victims. The Observatory identified Agal as the Levant governor of the Islamic State, but there was little information known about him.

The attack happened five months after Abu Ibrahim al-Qurashi, the head of the Islamic State, was killed in a US midnight operation in the northern Syrian town of Atme. According to US sources, Qurashi died after setting off a bomb to elude capture.

According to a statement from US Central Command, "extensive planning went into this operation to assure its successful implementation." It said that preliminary investigation revealed no civilian casualties.

IS "continues to represent a threat to the US and partners in the region," according to the statement. In February, the top IS official detonated himself in Syria during a US military operation.

What's Your Reaction?

like

dislike

love

funny

angry

sad

wow