WASHINGTON — U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) announced on Saturday that a senior al-Qaeda leader, Abu-’Abd al-Rahman al-Makki, was killed in a U.S. airstrike in Syria.
The operation targeted al-Makki, a member of the Hurras al-Din Shura Council, who was responsible for overseeing terrorist activities in the region, according to a statement from CENTCOM.
General Michael Erik Kurilla, the Commander of U.S. Central Command, reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to the “enduring defeat of terrorists in the CENTCOM area of responsibility who threaten the United States, its allies, and partners, and regional stability.”
Hurras al-Din, an al-Qaeda-affiliated organization based in Syria, emerged in 2018. In September 2019, the U.S. designated the group as a “Specially Designated Global Terrorist” under Executive Order 13224, a classification created in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks.
