Leader of ISIS in Syria is killed by US drone strike while riding a motorcycle and one of his key lieutenants is seriously injured
- The top ISIS official was assassinated by the United States Thursday, when he and his deputy was hit by an American drone strike in northwest Syria
- The strike killed senior ISIS leader Maher al-Agal, US officials said Tuesday morning, taking credit for the attack in the northern village of Khaltan
- Al-Agal was riding a motorbike in the village when he was targeted by the American missile, which saw him killed instantly
A top ISIS official was assassinated by the United States Tuesday - when he and his deputy were hit by an American drone strike in northwest Syria.
The strike killed senior ISIS leader Maher al-Agal, US officials said Tuesday morning, taking credit for the daytime attack in the northern village of Khaltan in the Syrian countryside.
Al-Agal - one of the top five leaders in the terrorist group - was riding a motorbike in the village when he was targeted by the American missile, which killed him instantly.
Another senior ISIS official was also hit by the attack, officials said, but survived. The official, who was not named, was reportedly wounded. The extent of his injuries are unknown.
Al-Agal’s body, which was badly burned and mutilated in the attack, was transported to an Idlib hospital.
The attack took place in the Jenderies district in Afrin - an area northwest of Aleppo, near the country's shared border with Turkey.
The war-torn region has been under occupation by the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) since March 2018.
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Despite this, the region has become a haven for hundreds of ISIS terrorists and leaders in recent years, who have made use of the areas sprawling mountain ranges and fields to set up bases of operations amid the ongoing civil war.
The attack serves as a reminder of the US' pledge to aid the Syrian government in their struggles against the militant group.
The strike also fits a previous pattern by US military officials, where senior ISIS leaders are assassinated by drone strikes or US military operations in areas under Turkish control - including Afrin.
US Central Command (CENTCOM) - a Department of Defense combatant command - took credit for the attack Tuesday, saying 'extensive planning' went into the strike, but kept details sparse as to its specifics.
'This strike reaffirms CENTCOM's steadfast commitment to the region and the enduring defeat of ISIS,' Col. Joe Buccino, a spokesperson for the agency told reporters, adding that the strike saw no civilian casualties.
'The removal of these ISIS leaders will disrupt the terrorist organization's ability to further plot and carry out global attacks.'
The colonel added: 'Extensive planning went into this operation to ensure its successful execution.'
According to Buccino, al-Agal was responsible for developing ISIS networks outside of Iraq and Syria.
The attack serves as the latest blow to the Islamist insurgent group's efforts to reorient toward a more guerrilla approach to their conflict with the Syrian army - which is backed by several NATO countries including Turkey and the US - after losing large swathes of territory after a series of defeats in 2019.
This year, the US - which has roughly 900 troops in Syria - has ramped up its efforts against the group, which has languished after seeing its power peak in 2017, when it ruled over millions and claimed responsibility for attacks around the world.
In February, the leader of the Islamic State, Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Quraishi, killed himself and his family by detonating a suicide bomb during a raid by US Special Forces in Āţimah, a town also near the Turkish border in northern Syria.
Al-Qurashi blew himself up as US special forces conducted a raid on the building he was hiding in northwestern Syria, according to Washington's intelligence.
US military officials said last month that the one-legged jihadist leader rigged the third floor of the building in preparation for the attack.
Officials say al-Qurashi, who was tracked down after a drone spotted him bathing on the building's roof last year, detonated the explosives at his home in the sleepy village of Atmeh, also near the Turkish border, on February 2.
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In June, US forces captured Hani Ahmed al-Kurdi, a senior leader in ISIS in Syria.
The attack comes roughly two weeks after the US killed Abu Hamzah al Yemeni, a senior leader of the al-Qaeda-aligned Hurras al-Din group, in another drone strike.
It also comes just a day before US President Joe Biden is poised to visit the Middle East, paying visits to both Israel and Saudi Arabia.
Meanwhile, hundreds of ISIS fighters are still in hiding throughout the country - strangely, often in areas occupied by Turkish forces.
The attack comes three years after the global coalition against ISIS helped Syrian forces crush the 'caliphate' IS had proclaimed in Iraq and Syria, and as the jihadists step up their efforts to bolster their presence in the Sahel region and West Africa.
The Global Coalition against Daesh (an Arabic acronym for ISIS) was formed in 2014 after the militants seized huge swathes of Iraq and Syria and now included 84 states and international organizations.
Officials have long warned that IS continues to pose a worldwide threat despite its loss of a territorial base.
ISIS has vowed to take vengeance for its elusive leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, killed in a US raid in northern Syria in late 2019.
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