[Asia Economy New York=Special Correspondent Joselgina] The U.S. Department of Defense has eliminated a leader of the extremist militant group Islamic State (IS) through a drone strike.
On the 12th (local time), the U.S. Department of Defense confirmed in a statement that it had eliminated Maher al-Agal, one of the IS leaders. The elimination operation was carried out in northern Syria near the border with T?rkiye (formerly Turkey). The Department of Defense stated, "Extensive planning was conducted to ensure the success of the operation, and initial assessments indicate that there were no civilian casualties."
Maher al-Agal has played a role in establishing IS networks outside of Iraq and Syria. Previously, the U.S. eliminated Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of IS, in October 2019, and in February, his successor Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi was also eliminated.
President Joe Biden, in a separate statement titled "Successful Counterterrorism Operation," said, "By eliminating a key terrorist in Syria, we have significantly degraded IS's ability to plan, resource, and conduct operations in the region," adding, "This sends a strong message to all terrorists who threaten the United States and its interests."
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