The US struck senior al Qaeda leaders in Syria twice this week. “These airstrikes were focused on targeting key Al Qaeda leaders who pose a threat to the US, our allies and our national security interests,” CENTCOM announced today. CENTCOM added that the slain jihadists were “core” al Qaeda members.
The first airstrike killed Abu Firas al Suri, a longtime al Qaeda veteran who served on Al Nusrah Front’s shura (advisory) council and was also the group’s spokesman for a time.
Jihadists on social media identified one of those killed in the second bombing as Rifai Ahmed Taha Musa, a veteran Egyptian jihadist who first worked with Osama bin Laden and Ayman al Zawahiri in the 1980s and 1990s. Musa was released in the wake of the Egyptian uprising that overthrew President Hosni Mubarak. He eventually fled Egypt, making his way to Turkey and Syria.
The photo seen above was posted on social media by a supporter who mourned Musa’s loss. Another jihadist seen in the image, which was first tweeted in July 2015, is Mohammed Islambouli.