One of the top five leaders of the Daesh terrorist group in northwestern Syria has been killed in a United States military airstrike, the U.S. military said Tuesday.
In a statement, U.S. Central Command said Maher al-Agal had been killed in the drone strike in northwest Syria and a close associate of his was seriously injured.
“Extensive planning went into this operation to ensure its successful execution. An initial review indicates there were no civilian casualties,” the statement added.
It said al-Agal was responsible for developing Daesh networks outside of Iraq and Syria.
Reuters had earlier reported on the killing, citing U.S. officials. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, had declined to provide details.
The killing would be another blow to Daesh’s efforts to reorganize as a guerrilla force after losing large swaths of territory.
In February, the terrorist group’s leader Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi was killed in Syria by U.S. forces. He was named the leader of Daesh in 2019 after the killing of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi by U.S. special forces earlier that year.