CENTCOM Says Senior Islamist Militant Killed in Syria Strike

US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced on Tuesday that they had killed Muhammad ‘Abd-al-Wahhab al-Ahmad in a strike last week. Ahmad was, according to the statement, a member of “Ansar al-Islam.”

Few details were offered about the strike, which happened on Thursday, October 2 according to reports. Ansar al-Islam presumably means Jamaat Ansar al-Islam, which is an organization known to be active within Syria and, as suggested by the statement, aligned with al-Qaeda.

The man they killed was claimed in the statement to be an “attack planner” for the group, though there was not substantial information available on this person or his history before he was killed.

CENTCOM commander Admiral Brad Cooper says that the US intends to remain in the Middle East to “disrupt and defeat” militants. The US has continued to attack various Islamist groups active within Syria on the grounds they’re in line with al-Qaeda.

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