The United States military killed a senior Al-Qaeda-linked attack planner earlier this month, U.S. Central Command announced.
The man, Muhammad ‘Abd-al-Wahhab al-Ahmad, was connected to the Al-Qaeda-affiliated group, Ansar al-Islam.
Adm. Brad Cooper, CENTCOM commander, said in a statement, “U.S. forces in the Middle East remain postured to disrupt and defeat efforts by terrorists to plan, organize, and conduct attacks. We will continue to defend our homeland, warfighters, allies and partners throughout the region and beyond.”
In February, CENTCOM conducted a precision airstrike leading to the death of a senior military leader in the Al-Qaeda affiliated group, Hurras al-Din (HaD).
“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,” Commander of U.S. Central Command Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla said at the time.
War Secretary Pete Hegseth moved earlier this year to consolidate forces in Syria in light of recent successes against ISIS.
“This consolidation reflects the significant steps we have made toward degrading ISIS’ appeal and operational capability regionally and globally. This deliberate and conditions-based process will bring the U.S. footprint in Syria down to less than a thousand U.S. forces in the coming months,” Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell explained, adding, “As this consolidation takes place, consistent with President Trump’s commitment to peace through strength, U.S. Central Command will remain poised to continue strikes against the remnants of ISIS in Syria. We will also work closely with capable and willing Coalition partners to maintain pressure on ISIS and respond to any other terrorist threats that arise.”
