U.S. military says it killed Al Qaeda affiliate leader in northwest Syria
U.S. forces carried out a strike in northwest Syria on Friday that resulted in the death of an al-Qaeda-affiliated leader who was linked to an ISIS gunman who ambushed and killed Americans last month, officials said.
U.S. Central Command said Saturday that the strike killed Bilal Hasan al-Jasim, whom the military described as “an experienced terrorist leader.”
Al-Jasim planned attacks and was directly linked to the shooter during an ISIS ambush in Palmyra, Syria, on Dec. 13, Central Command said in a news release. In that attack, two U.S. service members and a U.S. interpreter were killed, and other U.S. and Syrian personnel were injured, U.S. officials said.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on X in December that U.S. partner forces had killed the person who carried out the attack.
“The death of a terrorist linked to the deaths of three Americans demonstrates our resolve to pursue terrorists who attack our forces,” Admiral Brad Cooper, commander of CENTCOM, said in a statement Saturday. “There is no safe place for those who lead, plot or inspire attacks against American citizens and our warfighters. We will find you.”
President Donald Trump vowed retaliation following the December ambush, calling it an “ISIS attack on the United States.” The Defense Ministry said the incident occurred during a counterterrorism engagement.
Last week, the United States continued its large-scale strikes in Syria in an operation dubbed Hawkeye Strike. The operation saw U.S. and partner forces strike more than 100 IS infrastructure targets and weapons sites “with more than 200 precision munitions,” Central Command said. The strikes began in December when US forces targeted ISIS strongholds in Syria.
U.S. and partner forces have captured more than 300 ISIS operatives and killed more than 20 across Syria over the past year, “eliminating terrorists who posed a direct threat to U.S. and regional security,” the press release said.
