A prominent al-Qaeda terrorist network leader was killed in airstrike conducted by US forces in Syria, the US Department of Defense has confirmed.

Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook told reporters on Tuesday that the killing of Egyptian Abu Afghan al-Masri took place near Sarmada, located in Syria’s Idlib province, on November 18.

Cook further added that that Masri had originally joined al-Qaeda in Afghanistan and later moved to its Syrian affiliate.

“He had ties to terrorist groups operating throughout southwest Asia including groups responsible for attacking US and coalition forces in Afghanistan and those plotting to attack the West,” Cook said.

Masri was a religious judge in Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, an armed group formerly known as the al-Nusra Front until its formal break with al-Qaeda earlier this year, according to Al Jazeera.

This comes as Pentagon announced in mid-October that Haydar Kirkan, a member of al-Qaeda was killed in a similar airstrike.

According to Pentagon, Kirkan had been close to Osama bin Laden, the late founder of the terrorist network.

Earlier, Pentagon said a US air strike near Idlib had targeted a Nusra senior leader, Ahmed Salama Mabrouk, an Egyptian also known by his nom de guerre Abu Faraj.

Source: khaama.com