US military says drone strike in Syria kills a Saudi militant from an al-Qaida-linked group

IDLIB, Syria (AP) — A drone strike in northwestern Syria on Friday killed a Saudi militant from an al-Qaida-linked group as he was riding on a motorcycle, the U.S. military and a war monitor said.

The strike in the Jabal al-Zawiya area of the opposition-held Idlib province was carried out by a U.S.-led coalition that was established years ago to fight the militant Islamic State group.

The U.S. military has carried out a series of attacks over the past several years targeting al-Qaida-linked militants in northwestern Syria.

The U.S. Central Command said in a statement that its forces had killed Abu Abdul Rahman Makki, a senior leader in the group Horas al-Din, or “Guardians of Religion,” in a “kinetic strike.” It said Makki was “responsible for overseeing terrorist operations from Syria.”

“CENTCOM remains committed to the enduring defeat of terrorists … who threaten the United States, its allies and partners, and regional stability,” the CENTCOM commander, Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla, said in a statement.

Horas al-Din includes hardcore al-Qaida members who broke away from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the strongest insurgent group in Idlib province.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitoring group, said Makki was a Saudi citizen and former leader of the now-defunct extremist Jund al-Aqsa militant group.

Local media activist Kenana Hindawi said the motorcycle Makki was riding was hit by two missiles.

The Observatory noted that Makki had previously been imprisoned by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham.

Last year, a drone strike in Idlib killed two members of the Horas al-Din group.