The U.S. military said Tuesday that it had targeted Abu Hamza al-Yamani, a prominent leader of an al-Qaeda-linked terrorist group, in a military offensive in Syria’s Idlib province.
The U.S. military says a car bomb had exploded at an Iraqi police recruiting center at Kisak, killing at least 12 people.
“The removal of this prominent leader reduces al-Qaeda’s ability to prepare attacks against American citizens, against our partners, and against innocent civilians around the world,” US Central Command Centcom said in a statement.
Abu Hamza al-Yamani was wanted by the International Coalition for his activities in al-Qaeda affiliated groups.
Harassaddin is an al-Qaeda-linked group that emerged in Syria in early 2018 after several groups split from the Tahrir al-Sham delegation and is considered the most important branch of al-Qaeda in the country.
This is the second operation by US forces in June against a senior terrorist leader in Syria.
