a top ISIS official was killed by the United States on Tuesday — when he and his deputy were hit by a U.S. drone strike in the Northwest Syria†
Senior ISIS leader Maher al-Agal was killed in the attack, US officials said Tuesday morning, taking credit for the daytime attack in the northern village of Khaltan in the Syrian countryside.
Al-Agal – one of the top five leaders of the terrorist group – was riding a motorcycle in the village when he was attacked by the American missile, which killed him instantly.
Another senior ISIS official was also affected by the attack, officials said, but survived. The official, who was not named, was said to have been injured. The extent of his injuries is unknown.
Al-Agal’s body, which was badly burned and mutilated during the attack, was taken to a hospital in Idlib.
The attack took place in the Jenderies district of Afrin – an area northwest of Aleppo, near the country’s shared border with Turkey.
The war-torn region has been occupied by the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) since March 2018.
Senior ISIS leader Maher al-Agal was killed in the attack, US officials said Tuesday morning, taking credit for the attack in the northern village of Khaltan in the Syrian countryside. The photo shows Syrian officials inspecting the damage at the site
The attack took place in the Jenderies district of Afrin – an area northwest of Aleppo, near the country’s shared border with Turkey. The region has become a haven for hundreds of ISIS terrorists and leaders in recent years as the country continues to face a civil war
Despite this, in recent years the region has become a haven for hundreds of ISIS terrorists and leaders, who have taken advantage of the vast mountain ranges and fields to set up operations bases amid the ongoing civil war.
The attack serves as a reminder of the US pledge to assist the Syrian government in its fight against the militant group.
The strike also fits into a previous pattern of US military officials, where senior ISIS leaders are being killed by drone strikes or US military operations in areas under Turkish control — including Afrin.
The US Central Command (CENTCOM) – a combatant command of the Department of Defense – took credit for the attack on Tuesday, saying “extensive planning” went into the attack, but spared the details of its details.
“This strike reaffirms CENTCOM’s steadfast commitment to the region and the enduring defeat of ISIS,” Colonel Joe Buccino, a spokesman for the agency, told reporters, adding that there were no civilian casualties in the strike.
“The removal of these ISIS leaders will disrupt the terrorist organization’s ability to carry out further attacks and carry out global attacks.”
The Colonel added, “This operation was preceded by extensive planning to ensure its successful execution.”
According to Buccino, al-Agal was responsible for developing ISIS networks outside Iraq and Syria.
The attack is the final blow to Islamist insurgents’ efforts to refocus on a more guerrilla approach to their conflict with the Syrian military — which is backed by several NATO countries, including Turkey and the US — after destroying large parts of territory after a series of defeats in 2019.
This year, the US — which has about 900 troops in Syria — stepped up its efforts against the group, which was languishing after seeing its peak in power in 2017, when it ruled millions and claimed responsibility for attacks around the world.
In February, Islamic State leader Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Quraishi killed himself and his family by detonating a suicide bomb during a raid by US Special Forces in Āţimah, a town also near the Turkish border to the north. from Syria.
The incident came as a major blow to the militant group, which lost its previous leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi – the movement’s founder – who was also killed when he detonated explosives during a US raid in 2019.
In June, US troops captured Hani Ahmed al-Kurdi, a senior ISIS leader in Syria.
The attack comes just over two weeks after the US killed Abu Hamzah al Yemeni, a senior leader of the al-Qaeda-affiliated Hurras al-Din group, in a drone strike.
It also comes just a day before US President Joe Biden is set to tour the Middle East and make visits to both Israel and Saudi Arabia.