The U.S. military conducted an airstrike in northwestern Syria last week that killed a senior ISIS leader, U.S. Central Command said Wednesday.
The strike, carried out Friday, was part “of ongoing U.S. efforts to disrupt and eliminate terrorists seeking to attack Americans abroad or the U.S. homeland” and killed Ali Husayn al-Ulaywi, it said in a statement on X.
The Islamic State militant group has declared a new phase of operations in Syria against the government of President Ahmed al-Sharaa, carrying out a spate of attacks since February. Last year, Sharaa’s government joined the U.S.-led coalition fighting Islamic State.
On Saturday, the militant group claimed responsibility for an attack near the city of Manbij in Syria’s northeastern Aleppo province.
ISIS controlled around a quarter or more of Syria at the peak of its power during the Syrian civil war a decade ago, before being driven out of the territory by a U.S.-led coalition and other foes.
