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US forces kill Al-Qaeda affiliate leader linked to deadly ISIS ambush that killed 3 Americans
US Central Command said it killed Al-Qaeda-affiliated leader Bilal Hasan al-Jasim in the January 16 strike in northwest Syria.
US Central Command on Saturday informed that it killed a leader affiliated with Al-Qaeda who had direct ties to an ISIS militant behind the December 13 ambush that killed two US troops and an American interpreter. The leader was killed in a strike in northwest Syria on January 16.
The Al-Qaeda leader has been identified as Bilal Hasan al-Jasim, who was “an experienced terrorist leader who plotted attacks and was directly connected" to the December 13 attack, CENTCOM said.
On December 13, two American soldiers, Sgt. Edgar Brian Torres-Tovar and Sgt. William Nathaniel Howard was killed along with a civilian interpreter, Ayad Mansoor Sakat, in an ISIS ambush in central Syria.
Also read: Who were Brian Torres-Tovar and William Nathaniel Howard, US soldiers killed in Syria?
“The death of a terrorist operative linked to the deaths of three Americans demonstrates our resolve in pursuing terrorists who attack our forces,” CENTCOM quoted Admiral Brad Cooper, the head of U.S. Central Command, as saying.
The operation dubbed Hawkeye Strike was launched on January 16. Under this, the US forces launched large-scale strikes. This resulted in US and partner forces targeting more than 100 ISIS infrastructure and weapons site targets with over 200 precision munitions, CENTCOM said.
Also read: Operation Hawkeye Strike: US strikes ISIS targets in Syria after death of 3 Americans
Since the December 13 attack, US forces have been conducting strikes in Syria. CENTCOM also informed that during the past year, US forces have captured more than 300 ISIS operatives and killed over 20 across Syria.
Reacting to the X post by CENTCOM, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth posted, “We will never forget, and never relent."
The December 13 attack occurred while the soldiers were supporting a US-led mission against ISIS, when a lone ISIS gunman opened fire, killing both troops and an American civilian interpreter.
