Senior Qaeda Leader Killed in US Drone Strike in Syria

An MQ-9 aircraft. AFP file photo
An MQ-9 aircraft. AFP file photo
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Senior Qaeda Leader Killed in US Drone Strike in Syria

An MQ-9 aircraft. AFP file photo
An MQ-9 aircraft. AFP file photo

A senior al-Qaeda leader was killed in a US drone strike in Syria, the Pentagon said Friday.

The strike comes two days after a base in southern Syria, used by the US-led coalition fighting ISIS, was assaulted.

"A US airstrike today in northwest Syria killed senior al-Qaeda leader Abdul Hamid al-Matar," said Central Command spokesman Army Major John Rigsbee in a statement.

There were no known casualties from the strike, he said, adding it was conducted using an MQ-9 aircraft.

Rigsbee did not say if the US drone strike was carried out in retaliation to the assault on the Tanf base.

"The removal of this al-Qaeda senior leader will disrupt the terrorist organization's ability to further plot and carry out global attacks," he said.

At the end of September, the Pentagon killed Salim Abu-Ahmad, another senior Al-Qaeda commander in Syria, in an airstrike near Idlib in the country's northwest.

He had been responsible for "planning, funding, and approving trans-regional Al-Qaeda attacks," according to Centcom.

"Al-Qaeda continues to present a threat to America and our allies. Al-Qaeda uses Syria as a safe haven to rebuild, coordinate with external affiliates, and plan external operations," Rigsbee said.



Netanyahu Says Israel Is Establishing a New Security Corridor across Gaza

An internally displaced Palestinian walks at the site of a UN clinic following an Israeli airstrike, in the Jabalia refugee camp, northern Gaza Strip, 02 April 2025. (EPA)
An internally displaced Palestinian walks at the site of a UN clinic following an Israeli airstrike, in the Jabalia refugee camp, northern Gaza Strip, 02 April 2025. (EPA)
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Netanyahu Says Israel Is Establishing a New Security Corridor across Gaza

An internally displaced Palestinian walks at the site of a UN clinic following an Israeli airstrike, in the Jabalia refugee camp, northern Gaza Strip, 02 April 2025. (EPA)
An internally displaced Palestinian walks at the site of a UN clinic following an Israeli airstrike, in the Jabalia refugee camp, northern Gaza Strip, 02 April 2025. (EPA)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel is establishing a new security corridor across the Gaza Strip.

In a statement on Wednesday, he described it as the Morag corridor, using the name of a Jewish settlement that once stood between Rafah and Khan Younis, suggesting it would run between the two southern cities.

His comments came as Palestinian officials at hospitals inside Gaza said Israeli strikes overnight and into Wednesday had killed more than 40 people, nearly a dozen of them children.

The Israeli government has long maintained a buffer zone just inside Gaza along its security fence and has greatly expanded since the war against Hamas began in 2023. Israel says the buffer zone is needed for its security, while Palestinians view it as a land grab that further shrinks the narrow coastal territory, home to around 2 million people.