Trump says ‘precision airstrike’ in Syria killed senior al-Qaeda operative plotting to threaten America

Donald Trump congratulated Central Command Forces on a ‘precision airstrike’ Sunday that killed a senior al-Qaeda operative who was plotting attacks to ‘threaten America and our allies.’

The unidentified terrorist was a senior finance and logistics official in the terror organization Hurras al-Din (HaD), an Al-Qaeda affiliate. He was killed while traveling on a highway near the village of Batabo in northwest Syria.

Trump celebrated the airstrike and the soldiers who executed the mission on Monday with a post to Truth Social.

‘US forces conducted a precision airstrike against a member of al-Qaeda in Syria this weekend. The terrorist leader was working with al-Qaeda across the region,’ he wrote.

‘Congratulations to CENTCOM Commander Gen. Michael Kurilla, and the US warfighters who dealt Justice to another Jihadi threatening America and our allies and partners.’

It was the second time in recent weeks that a member of Hurras al-Din has been taken out by CENTCOM.

Muhammad Salah al-Zabir, another senior operative with the al-Qaeda affiliate, was killed in a January 30 airstrike.

Hurras al-Din was founded in February 2018, according to US-based intelligence agency SITE.

The group had been fighting with Syrian rebels in an attempt to topple Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

Since 2019, the United States has designated Hurras al-Din as a terrorist organization.

The group dissolved in January and only then did they confirm that they were affiliated with al-Qaeda.

The US government offers financial rewards for information leading to the capture of its members.

‘We will continue to relentlessly pursue terrorists in order to defend our homeland, and US, allied, and partner personnel in the region,’ CENTCOM General Michael Erik Kurilla said in a statement.

The two Hurras al-Din officials killed combines with an ISIS leader taken out in early February in what has been a successful month for Trump in taking down America’s enemies.

DailyMail.com revealed that the air strike in Somalia killed an ISIS leader believed to be responsible for recruiting terrorists for operations in the West.

He was named as Ahmed Maeleminine, a senior ISIS recruiter, financer, and external operations leader.

Details of the operation were first revealed by Trump in late January, when he posted video of the strike on Somalia.

‘These killers, who we found hiding in caves, threatened the United States and our Allies,’ he posted on Truth Social.

‘The strikes destroyed the caves they live in, and killed many terrorists without, in any way, harming civilians.’

It was the result of a busy 36 hours at the White House, as officials sought approval for the strike and then monitored the results.