ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The United States military on Friday killed a senior leader of an al-Qaeda-associated group in a strike in Syria, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced. Abu-‘Abd al-Rahman al-Makki, a “Hurras al-Din Shura Council member and senior leader responsible for overseeing terrorist operations from Syria,” was killed in a “targeted kinetic strike” on Friday, CENTCOM said on X. “Hurras al-Din is an Al-Qaeda-associated force based in Syria that shared Al Qaeda’s global aspirations to conduct attacks against U.S. and Western interests,” it stated. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor, said Makki was killed in a drone strike in the southern countryside of Idlib while on a motorcycle. Around 900 American troops in Syria are part of an international coalition that has assisted local forces such as the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the fight against the Islamic State (ISIS) since 2014. Makki was a Saudi national, according to the war monitor. “CENTCOM remains committed to the enduring defeat of terrorists in the CENTCOM area of responsibility who threaten the United States, its allies and partners, and regional stability,” said CENTCOM commander Michael “Erik” Kurilla.
