BY: News Peddlers
The
military of United States of America says it has killed the leader of ISIL
(ISIS) group in Syria in a drone strike outside Jandaris, northwest Syria, with
another senior ISIL official “seriously injured”.
Maher al-Agal, one of
the top five ISIL leaders was killed, said US Central Command (CENTCOM) on
Tuesday in a statement.
It
is yet to name the second ISIL official, which was injured.
Al-Agal was
responsible for “aggressively” developing the group’s networks outside Iraq and
Syria, CENTCOM said.
Colonel Joe Buccino,
a CENTCOM spokesperson said “The removal of these ISIS leaders will disrupt the
terrorist organization’s ability to further plot and carry out global attacks,”
Al Jazeera reports.
“ISIS continues to represent a
threat to the U.S. and partners in the region,” the statement read. “CENTCOM
maintains a sufficient and sustainable presence in the region and will continue
to counter threats against regional security,” he added.
It
is recalled that in February, US President Joe Biden announced ISIL
leader Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi had been killed in a US raid.
Al-Qurayshi blew
himself up on February 3 up as US forces raided the compound in the
northeastern Syrian town of Atmeh where he lived. He had barricaded his family
in the building and detonated a bomb as the special forces closed in.
That US operation was the
second time in three years the US had killed a top ISIL leader.
ISIL
acknowledged al-Qurayshi’s death in March and named a new leader.
In 2014 at the height
of its power, ISIL ruled over about eight million people, controlling a third
of Syria and Iraq.
The group has since lost almost
all of its territory, with leaders and fighters in carrying out armed attacks
in the region.
SOURCE AL JAZEERA