Two leaders "from a faction close to Al-Qaeda" were killed in a U.S. drone strike in Idlib province in northwestern Syria on Monday, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and the U.S. military. The U.S. military confirmed it killed a leader of Al-Qaeda, shortly after the U.S.-led coalition against jihadists denied conducting any airstrikes in the Idlib area.
U.S. Central Command spokesperson Lieutenant Josie Lynne said, "U.S. forces conducted a counterterrorism strike near Idlib, Syria, targeting a senior Al-Qaeda leader." She added, "According to our preliminary assessments, we hit the person we were targeting, and there are no indications of civilian casualties."
The U.S. confirmation came after the Observatory reported that the airstrike targeted a vehicle on the road from Idlib to Binnish, northeast of Idlib city center. Observatory Director Rami Abdul Rahman confirmed that one of the leaders killed in the strike "was of Tunisian nationality," while the second was from Yemen or Saudi Arabia. However, he could not specify the jihadist faction to which they belonged.
Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (formerly known as Jabhat al-Nusra) and less influential opposition factions control half of Idlib and its surroundings. The area is home to three million people, nearly half of whom are displaced. These factions face regular airstrikes by the Syrian regime and its ally Russia, in addition to the U.S.-led international coalition.
In October 2019, nine jihadists were killed, including six fighters from the Guardians of Religion Organization, which is considered Al-Qaeda's branch in Syria. A month prior, 40 jihadists were killed in U.S. strikes near Idlib city. The war in Syria has resulted in the deaths of more than 388,000 people and displaced millions, forcing more than half of the population to flee both within the country and abroad, as well as devastating infrastructure, draining the economy, and impacting various sectors.
