Senior Islamic State leader killed by US airstrike on northwest Syria

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — An airstrike on northwest Syria last week killed a senior member of the Islamic State group, the U.S. Central Command said on Wednesday.

Ali Husayn al-Ulaywi was killed on Friday as part of ongoing U.S. efforts to ‘’disrupt and eliminate terrorists seeking to attack Americans abroad or the U.S. homeland,” a CENTCOM statement said.

Syrian activists had initially reported that an airstrike on a motorcycle near the village of Deir Hassan close to the border with Turkey had killed one person. It was not immediately clear at the time who had been targeted in the airstrike.

Despite its defeat in Syria in 2019, sleeper cells linked to IS remain active and have been claiming attacks against the country’s new authorities following the December 2024 fall of the five-decade Assad family rule.

“CENTCOM and our partners remain committed to rooting out remaining remnants of ISIS to ensure its enduring defeat,” CENTCOM commander Adm. Brad Cooper said, using an acronym to refer to IS.

He added: “We will continue to defend the U.S. homeland, our service members, and allies and partners across the region.”

In an audio message released in February, IS spokesman Abu Huzaifa al-Ansari called on IS followers around the world to attack Jewish and Western targets as they have in past years.

The U.S. military last conducted strikes against IS targets in Syria in February in retaliation for an ambush in December that killed two U.S. soldiers and one American civilian interpreter. Central Command said then that at least 50 members of IS had been killed or captured.

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Finley reported from Washington.