A senior Islamic state leader who was responsible for planning ISIS attacks into Europe has been killed in Syria by the United States.
Khalid ‘Aydd Ahmad al-Jabouri died in a unilateral strike that did not kill or injure any civilians, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement on Monday.
He was a “senior ISIS leader” who was “responsible for planning ISIS attacks into Europe” as well as “developing the leadership structure” for the terrorist group, it added.
CENTCOM officials said his death will “temporarily disrupt the organisation’s ability to plot external attacks”. It did not reveal where in the country the attack took place.
The statement warned that “though degraded, the group remains able to conduct operations within the region with a desire to strike beyond the Middle East”.
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Islamic State established a self-governing ‘caliphate’ in Syria and Iraq in 2014. After a campaign by the US and Western allies, it was forced into defeat in late 2017.
The US has been targeting senior Islamic State leaders to ensure the group does not regain momentum.
Last month Hamza al-Homsi died in a helicopter raid, while Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi was killed in February 2021 and founder Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in October 2019.