US strike kills 14 jihadists in northwestern Syria
A US Army Predator drone.
US Army
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The US military announced Thursday that it had carried out a strike against Al Qaeda officials in northwestern Syria, an operation which, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH), killed 14 people, including five foreign jihadists and six commanders.
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The US Forces carried out a strike against a group of senior al-Qaeda officials in Syria who had gathered near Idleb,
" said Commander Beth Riordan, spokesman for the US Army Central Command. Centcom).
The elimination of these Al Qaeda leaders in Syria will reduce the ability of the terrorist organization to plan and carry out attacks that threaten American citizens, our partners and innocent civilians.
The American spokeswoman did not specify the number of dead.
According to OSDH, an NGO based in Great Britain, the drone strike targeted a gathering of jihadists in the village of Jakara near Salqin, in the province of Idleb.
it is the last bastion hostile to the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad which shelters jihadist and rebel groups led by Hayat Tahrir al-Cham (HTS), the ex-Syrian branch of Al-Qaeda which dominates the insurgent areas .
According to the director of the OSDH, Rami Abdel Rahman, five foreign nationals were among the jihadists killed on Thursday but their nationality is not established.
Of the six commanders killed in the drone strike, two were from HTS, he added.
Ebaa, the HTS propaganda organ, said for his part that a strike had targeted "
a tent belonging to one of the dignitaries
" in Jakara, killing several people.
The assassin of Professor de Conflans in connection with a jihadist from Idleb
The strike comes as in France, the assassin of the
professor killed by a Chechen Islamist
for showing caricatures of Mohammed to his students, was in contact with a Russian-speaking jihadist in Syria before his act.
The identity of this jihadist has not been established at this stage, said a source familiar with the matter.
According to the newspaper
Le Parisien,
this person located thanks to his computer IP address would be based in Idleb.
The region hosts thousands of foreigners, including French, British and Chechens, who have settled there over the years, according to OSDH.
After a series of victories thanks to military aid from its Russian ally, the Assad regime has regained control of around 70% of Syrian territory.
Triggered in 2011 by the repression of a popular revolt against power, the conflict has turned into a devastating war involving a multitude of regional and international actors, as well as jihadist groups.
The war killed more than 380,000 people and forced millions of people to flee.
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See also: Syria: the announced release of ISIS jihadists raises fears of a return to chaos
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