US Military Says it Killed Leader of al-Qaeda-Aligned Group in Syria

US soldiers and military vehicles as a base in Syria's northeastern town of Rmelan on October 29, 2023. (AFP)
US soldiers and military vehicles as a base in Syria's northeastern town of Rmelan on October 29, 2023. (AFP)
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US Military Says it Killed Leader of al-Qaeda-Aligned Group in Syria

US soldiers and military vehicles as a base in Syria's northeastern town of Rmelan on October 29, 2023. (AFP)
US soldiers and military vehicles as a base in Syria's northeastern town of Rmelan on October 29, 2023. (AFP)

The US military said it carried out a strike in Syria on Friday that killed a senior leader of an al-Qaeda aligned group, Reuters said.
The strike targeted Abu-’Abd al-Rahman al-Makki, a senior leader of the al-Qaeda-aligned Hurras al-Din, the US Central Command said in a post on X.
The strike took place in the Jabal al-Zawiya area of the opposition-held Idlib province.
The US military has carried out a series of attacks over the past several years targeting al-Qaida-linked militants in northwestern 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.



Two Million Syrians Returned Home Since Assad's Fall, Says UN

Syrian migrants wait at the Cilvegozu border gate to cross into Syria, after Syrian rebels announced that they ousted Syria's Bashar al-Assad, in the Turkish town of Reyhanli in Hatay province, Türkiye, - Reuters
Syrian migrants wait at the Cilvegozu border gate to cross into Syria, after Syrian rebels announced that they ousted Syria's Bashar al-Assad, in the Turkish town of Reyhanli in Hatay province, Türkiye, - Reuters
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Two Million Syrians Returned Home Since Assad's Fall, Says UN

Syrian migrants wait at the Cilvegozu border gate to cross into Syria, after Syrian rebels announced that they ousted Syria's Bashar al-Assad, in the Turkish town of Reyhanli in Hatay province, Türkiye, - Reuters
Syrian migrants wait at the Cilvegozu border gate to cross into Syria, after Syrian rebels announced that they ousted Syria's Bashar al-Assad, in the Turkish town of Reyhanli in Hatay province, Türkiye, - Reuters

Over two million Syrians who had fled their homes during their country's war have returned since the ouster of Bashar al-Assad, UN refugee agency chief Filippo Grandi said Thursday, ahead of a visit to Syria.

The Syrian civil war, which erupted in 2011 with Assad's brutal repression of anti-government protests, displaced half of the population internally or abroad.

But Assad's December 8 ouster at the hands of Islamist forces sparked hopes of return.

"Over two million Syrian refugees and displaced have returned home since December," Grandi wrote on X during a visit to neighboring Lebanon, which hosts about 1.5 million Syrian refugees, according to official estimates, AFP reported.

It is "a sign of hope amid rising regional tensions," he said.

"This proves that we need political solutions -- not another wave of instability and displacement."

After 14 years of war, many returnees face the reality of finding their homes and property badly damaged or destroyed.

But with the recent lifting of Western sanctions on Syria, new authorities hope for international support to launch reconstruction, which the UN estimates could cost more than $400 billion.

Earlier this month, UNHCR estimated that up to 1.5 million Syrians from abroad and two million internally displaced persons may return by the end of 2025.