US-led coalition targets senior member of Al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria
3 Min Read
Despite the group's announcement in January of its dissolution following the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime, coalition operations targeting Hurras al-Din leaders and members have persisted.
-
People gather to inspect the site of an International Coalition airstrike near the al-Nasr camp in the countryside of Jarabulus, eastern Aleppo, northern Syria, on Tuesday, February 25, 2025 (Social media)
One person was killed after being targeted by aircraft belonging to the US-led International Coalition while riding a motorcycle near the al-Nasr camp in the countryside of Jarabulus, eastern Aleppo, northern Syria, Al Mayadeen’s correspondent in Syria reported on Tuesday.
Our correspondent mentioned that the individual targeted by coalition airstrikes in eastern Aleppo was Fadi Ahmad Farrouh, known as Abu Mohammad al-Shami, a former commander in Hurras al-Din, an al-Qaeda-affiliated group.
#عاجــل
— عبد الغني جاروخ (@Abdalgani1990) February 25, 2025
طيران التحالف يستهدف شخص على دراجة نارية قرب مخيم النصر بريف مدينة #جرابلس ولم نتمكن من معرفة المستهدف بعد pic.twitter.com/Ma1z1dvOWo
According to the US-based SITE Intelligence Group, Hurras al-Din was established in February 2018. The group did not publicly confirm its allegiance to al-Qaeda until announcing its dissolution last month.
The United States designated Hurras al-Din as a "terrorist" organization in 2019 and has offered financial rewards for information on several of its members.
Despite the group's announcement on January 28, 2025, of its dissolution following the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime, coalition operations targeting Hurras al-Din leaders and members have persisted.
The group included approximately 32 factions in Syria that pledged allegiance to it after splitting from Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the Islamist group that led the offensive that ousted al-Assad on December 8, 2024.
A few days ago, an airstrike targeted a Jeep carrying senior security official Wasim Bayraqdar and Samer Bayraqdar, the brother of Damascus’ current director of religious endowments. Wasim, also known as Talha Abu Imran al-Shami, held a key internal security position within the group.
Last week, the US military announced that it had carried out a precision airstrike in Syria, killing a member of Hurras al-Din.
In a statement on X, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said the strike took place in northwestern Syria, targeting and eliminating "a senior finance and logistics official in the terrorist organization Hurras al-Din (HaD), an al-Qaeda affiliate."
CENTCOM did not disclose the identity of the individual targeted.
The statement indicated that the operation aimed to "disrupt and degrade efforts by terrorists to plan, organize, and conduct attacks against civilians and military personnel" from the United States and its allies.
On January 30, CENTCOM carried out another airstrike, killing senior Hurras al-Din operative Muhammad Salah al-Zubair.
Read more: US increasing strikes against al-Qaeda off-shoot Hurras al-Din
