US Claims Drone Attack Killed ISIS Leader, Responsible For Network Development Outside Iraq And Syria

Illustration of the United States MQ-9 Reaper drone. (Wikimedia Commons/USGOV-PD)

JAKARTA - The United States military said on Tuesday that one of the top five leaders of the Islamic State military group was killed in an air strike in Syria.

In a statement, United States Central Command said Maher al-Agal had been killed in a drone strike in northwestern Syria, while a close associate was seriously injured.

"Extensive planning was carried out in this operation to ensure its successful implementation. Initial reviews indicate there were no civilian casualties," the statement added.

It said Maher al-Agal was responsible for developing the ISIS network outside of Iraq and Syria. previously reported the killing, citing US officials.

Meanwhile, the Syrian Civil Defence, a humanitarian organization operating in opposition-held areas, said an unidentified drone targeted a motorbike in the village of Khaltan in the northern countryside of the Aleppo region, killing two people.

The US military did not mention motorcycles in its statement but said a senior ISIS official closely linked to Maher was seriously injured during the attack.

The attack would be another blow to the Islamist rebel group's efforts to reorganize as a guerrilla force after losing large swathes of territory.

The United States has about 900 troops in Syria, mostly in the east of the country torn apart by a decade-long civil war, although President Joe Biden's administration has not detailed its long-term plans for the eight-year mission.

In February, the top ISIS leader blew himself up during a US military offensive in Syria.

At the height of its power from 2014-17, ISIS controlled millions of people and claimed responsibility for or inspired attacks in dozens of cities around the world.

Its leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, declared a caliphate over a quarter of Iraq and Syria in 2014, before he was killed in an attack by US special forces in northwestern Syria in 2019 when the group collapsed.

The US-led coalition fighting ISIS said in mid-2019, after the group's defeats on the battlefield, that it was retaining 14,000 to 18,000 members, including 3,000 foreigners, though exact numbers were as difficult as ISIS itself.

"ISIS continues to be a threat to the United States and partners in the region," a spokesman for US Central Command said in a statement about the drone strikes.

While analysts say many local fighters may have returned to normal life, ready to resurface when the opportunity presents itself.