Middle East
Airstrike by CENTCOM forces kills senior military leader of al-Qaida affiliate
Stars and Stripes
March 2, 2025
.png/alternates/LANDSCAPE_910/Screenshot%2054.png)
A screenshot from a video by U.S. Central Command showing a precision airstrike against a senior military leader in an al-Qaida affiliate on Feb. 23, 2025 in northwest Syria. (U.S. Central Command via X)
An airstrike conducted by U.S. Central Command forces in northwest Syria has killed a senior military leader in an al-Qaida affiliate, CENTCOM announced Saturday.
The precision airstrike conducted Feb. 23 killed Muhammed Yusuf Ziya Talay, the senior military leader of the terrorist organization Hurras al-Din.
“We will continue to pursue relentlessly these terrorists in order to defend our homeland, and U.S., allied, and partner personnel in the region,” Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla, commander of U.S. Central Command, said in the statement.
It is the latest in a series of recent attacks targeting Hurras al-Din.
On Feb. 21, CENTCOM forces killed Wasim Tahsin Bayraqdar, a senior leadership facilitator, with a similar airstrike. Airstrikes by CENTCOM also killed a senior official on Feb. 15, and senior operative Muhammad Salah al-Za’bir on Jan. 30.
The airstrikes are a part of CENTCOM’s ongoing commitment to disrupt terrorism against the U.S., along with its allies and partners in the region.