US Troops Stationed in Syria, "Killed Al-Qaeda Commander in Drone Attack"

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] The U.S. military stationed in Syria announced that it killed 14 members of the terrorist organization Al-Qaeda, including senior officials, in a drone strike in the Idlib region, known as a rebel stronghold in Syria. The U.S. military is reported to have achieved significant results by targeting key leaders of Al-Qaeda and ISIS through drone strikes.

According to foreign media such as AP News, the U.S. Central Command, responsible for the Middle East region, stated on the 22nd (local time) that the U.S. forces stationed in Syria killed 14 Al-Qaeda fighters, including six senior Al-Qaeda officials, in a drone operation in the northwestern Idlib region. Major Beth Riordan, spokesperson for Central Command, said, "A meeting of Al-Qaeda leaders was held in the Idlib region, and the U.S. military bombed it," adding, "This operation was aimed at crushing the capabilities of international terrorist organizations that threaten innocent American and allied civilians."

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a monitoring group for the Syrian civil war, reported that the death toll from this attack was 14, including five non-Syrians and six commander-level officials. The group explained that those targeted were gathered for dinner. The U.S. military stationed in Syria also announced that on the 15th of this month, it killed two senior Al-Qaeda officials in a drone strike in the Idlib region, and earlier last month, it attacked vehicles carrying key ISIS officials with drone missiles, killing the leaders.

The Idlib region is a stronghold of the armed group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which is linked to Al-Qaeda. Besides these, the U.S. military withdrew all 1,000 deployed troops stationed in Syria from mid-October last year but redeployed several hundred troops to eastern Syria later that month to protect oil fields.