WASHINGTON, D.C.: A US drone strike has killed a senior Al-Qaeda leader in Syria who previously operated in Afghanistan, the Defense Department announced on Tuesday (Wednesday in Manila). The November 18 strike near Sarmada in northwestern Syria targeted Abu Afghan al-Masri, Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said. Al-Masri was an Egyptian who originally joined Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan and later moved to its Syrian affiliate, Cook said. The Pentagon did not immediately provide further information about Masri, only that he had a “senior leadership role” in Al-Qaeda. In October, the Pentagon said a US air strike near Idlib had targeted a Nusra senior leader, Ahmed Salama Mabrouk, an Egyptian also known by his nom de guerre Abu Faraj.

Source: Manila Times November 23, 2016 13:57 UTC