US kills al Qaeda affiliate leader tied to attack in Syria, Centcom says
- - US kills al Qaeda affiliate leader tied to attack in Syria, Centcom says
USA TODAYJanuary 17, 2026 at 11:00 PM
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U.S. military forces on Jan. 16 killed an al Qaeda affiliate leader linked to an Islamic State attack on Americans in Syria last month, U.S. Central Command said in a statement on Saturday, Jan. 17.
Bilal Hasan al-Jasim had "direct ties" to an ISIS gunman who killed and injured U.S. and Syrian personnel on Dec. 13 in Palmyra, Syria, Central Command said.
“The death of a terrorist operative linked to the deaths of three Americans demonstrates our resolve in pursuing terrorists who attack our forces,” said Admiral Brad Cooper, the head of U.S. Central Command, in a statement.
Since the Dec. 13 attack, U.S. forces have been conducting strikes in Syria, with the U.S. military saying it has hit more than 100 ISIS targets.
"We will never forget, and never relent," Pete Hegseth, Secretary of the Department of War, formerly known as the Department of Defense, said in an X post that included Centcom's statement.
(Reporting by Susan Heavey and Deepa Seetharaman, Editing by Franklin Paul, Sergio Non, Rod Nickel)
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: US kills al Qaeda affiliate leader tied to attack in Syria, Centcom says
Source: “AOL Breaking”
