US kills senior Hurras al-Din leader in northwest Syria

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The United States military said on Saturday it killed a senior leader of the al-Qaeda affiliate Hurras al-Din (HaD) in a precision airstrike in northwest Syria.

“On Feb. 23, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) forces conducted a precision airstrike in Northwest Syria, targeting and killing Muhammed Yusuf Ziya Talay, the senior military leader of the terrorist organization Hurras al-Din (HaD), an Al-Qaeda affiliate,” read a statement from CENTCOM.

“The airstrike is part of CENTCOM's ongoing commitment, along with partners in the region, to disrupt and degrade efforts by terrorists to plan, organize, and conduct attacks against civilians and military personnel from the U.S., our allies, and our partners throughout the region and beyond,” it added.

Hurras al-Din, or Guardians of Religion, broke away from Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) in 2018. HTS led the Syrian rebel coalition that toppled Bashar al-Assad’s regime and established a transitional government. The two groups have vied for influence and territory though efforts have been made to reconcile their differences.

“As we have said in the past, we will continue to relentlessly pursue these terrorists in order to defend our homeland, and U.S., allied, and partner personnel in the region,” said CENTCOM commander General Michael Erik Kurilla.

This is the second US airstrike against Hurras al-Din in recent weeks. On February 21, CENTCOM forces killed Wasim Tahsin Bayraqdar, a senior leadership member of the group.

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