“We can confirm that we targeted a prominent al-Qaeda member in Syria, and we are assessing the results of the operation at this time,” said Capt. Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman. “Each time we remove a significant al-Qaeda leader, we disrupt and degrade their command and control and halt their expansion This is another example of our government’s resolve to track down those whose objective is bringing terror to others, particularly external operations outside of Syria and Iraq.”
Unconfirmed reports on social media suggested that the target of the U.S. airstrike was Abu al-Faraj al-Masri, a senior al-Nusra commander.
Davis made clear to reporters this morning that the target was a leader of core al-Qaeda, the terrorist group founded by Osama bin Laden and now headed by Ayman al-Zawahiri that continues to operate in the tribal region of Pakistan.
Davis said there has been a resurgence of al-Qaeda in Syria, particularly through its onetime Syrian affiliate al-Nusra Front, which has been a key Islamist rebel group in the Syrian civil war. In July, al-Nusra Front changed its name to Jabhat al-Sham and severed ties to the parent Qaeda organization.
