A US helicopter strike in northern Syria on Monday killed a senior Islamic State leader accused of planning attacks in the Middle East and Europe, the Pentagon said in a statement.
The statement said the attack targeted Abd-al-Hadi Mahmud al-Haji Ali and was launched after he gathered information that Islamic State was planning to kidnap officials abroad.
“Even as ISIS (Islamic State) is degraded, it remains capable of conducting operations in the region with the desire to strike beyond the Middle East,” General Michael Kurilla, who heads the U.S. Central Command, said in an earlier statement.
Two other Islamic gunmen were killed in the airstrike and no civilians were injured. Two weeks ago, U.S. forces killed Khalid ‘Aydd Ahmad al-Jabouri, another senior Islamic State leader whom CENTCOM said was responsible for planning attacks in Europe and Turkey.
Islamic State once controlled one-third of Iraq and Syria at its peak in 2014. Although it has been defeated in both countries, its militants continue to attack insurgents.
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