US announces airstrike that killed senior al-Qaeda leader in Syria

WASHINGTON — The US Army said Saturday it had killed a top military leader of Hurras al-Din, a Syrian branch of al-Qaeda, which announced its dissolution in January.

The US Central Command (CENTCOM), in charge of American forces in the Middle East, said in a statement that its forces on February 23 “conducted a precision airstrike in Northwest Syria, targeting and killing Muhammed Yusuf Ziya Talay, the senior military leader of the terrorist organization Hurras al-Din.”

Since Hurras al-Din announced in late January that it was dissolving itself, US airstrikes have killed several of the group’s leaders, according to CENTCOM.

On February 22, it said a “precision airstrike” had killed Wasim Tahsin Bayraqdar, a leader of the group, which the US classifies as a terrorist organization.

American forces are in Syria as part of an international coalition created in 2014 to fight the jihadists of the Islamic State group.

After a rebel alliance led by radical Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham toppled Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and took power in Damascus on December 8, Hurras al-Din said it no longer needed to exist.

CENTCOM Forces Kill the Senior Military Leader of Al-Qaeda Affiliate Hurras al-Din (HaD) in Syria

On Feb. 23, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) forces conducted a precision airstrike in Northwest Syria, targeting and killing Muhammed Yusuf Ziya Talay, the senior military leader of… pic.twitter.com/trhDvgdgne

— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) March 1, 2025

The group, including foreign jihadists, was based in mountainous northwestern Syria.