US Central Command stated that Maher al-Agal was responsible for “aggressively” expanding IS networks outside of Iraq and Syria, and that “extensive planning” went into the drone strike to “ensure its successful execution.”
According to the Pentagon, the head of the Islamic State in Syria has been killed by a US drone strike.
Maher al-Agal, one of the top five leaders of the jihadist group, was killed outside the town of Jindaris in northwest Syria, close to the Turkish border, on Tuesday, according to US Central Command.
An unidentified senior IS official, a close associate of his, sustained serious injuries.
The US Department of Defense stated that there were no civilian casualties, although it was not immediately possible to confirm this.
US Central Command stated that Al-Agal was responsible for “aggressively” expanding IS networks outside of Iraq and Syria, and that “extensive planning” went into the drone strike to “ensure its successful execution.”
Al-Agal was a prominent IS commander when the organization controlled Raqqa in Syria, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitor.
In 2020, he relocated further north to Afrin with Turkish-backed factions.
He was most recently the commander of Jaysh Al-Sharqiyah, a Turkish-backed faction.
US Central Command stated that violent extremist groups “continue to pose a threat to the United States and our allies.”
Al Qaeda-affiliated groups have used the rebel-held enclave in northwestern Syria as a haven, according to the report.
The attack on al-Agal occurs months after Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi, the leader of the Islamic State, was killed by American forces during a raid on his hideout. He detonated himself and the members of his family.
Abu Hamza al Yemeni, a senior leader of the Horas al-Din group, was killed by an American drone strike last month.
At the height of its power, the Islamic State insurgent group ruled over eight million people across more than 60,000 square miles from Syria to Iraq.
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank, stated that despite the state’s disintegration in 2019, its leaders have “effectively restructured themselves organizationally” using guerilla methods.
Over the years, US forces have also targeted militants affiliated with al Qaeda.
