The United States forces conducted an airstrike over the weekend in Syria, earning a hearty congratulations from President Donald Trump. The target was a member of Hurras al-Din, an affiliate of the militant organization, Al-Qaeda.
The US Central Command, in an official press release, confirmed that they “conducted a precision airstrike in Northwest Syria targeting and killing a senior finance and logistics official in the terrorist organization Hurras al-Din (HaD), an Al-Qaeda affiliate.”
CENTCOM further revealed that the airstrike was part of its “ongoing commitment, along with partners in the region, to disrupt and degrade efforts by terrorists to plan, organize, and conduct attacks against civilians and military personnel from the U.S., our allies, and our partners throughout the region and beyond.”
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General Michael Erik Kurilla, commented on the airstrike in a statement, saying, “We will continue to relentlessly pursue terrorists in order to defend our homeland, and U.S., allied, and partner personnel in the region.”
President Donald Trump took to his social media platform, Truth Social, and said, “US forces conducted a precision airstrike against a member of al-Qaeda in Syria this weekend. The terrorist leader was working with al-Qaeda across the region.”
Donald Trump lauded the successful completion of the mission in the same post, saying, “Congratulations to CENTCOM Commander Gen. Michael Kurilla, and the US warfighters who dealt Justice to another Jihadi threatening America and our allies and partners.”
US forces conducted a precision airstrike against a member of al-Qaeda in Syria this weekend. The terrorist leader was working with al-Qaeda across the region. Congratulations to CENTCOM Commander Gen. Michael Kurilla, and the US warfighters who dealt Justice to another Jihadi…
— Donald J. Trump Posts From His Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) February 18, 2025
Hurras al-Din was formed after the Nusrah Front militant outfit parted ways with Al-Qaeda in 2018. The organization mainly operates in the Idlib Province of Syria and is believed to have around 2500 members as per reports by the National Counterterrorism Center.
The Center has claimed that Hurras al-Din “advocates attacks against the West and Israel to expel foreign influence from Muslim lands, and it seeks to set the conditions necessary to form a new caliphate across the Levant and the broader Middle East.”
“Hurras al-Din maintains access to several longtime al-Qa‘ida members who could enable the group to pose a threat to US and other Western interests outside of Syria, despite its weakened state following successive personnel losses since 2019 that have removed many of the group’s veteran leaders,” the National Counterterrorism Center added.
This precision attack comes days after the US forces conducted an airstrike targeting ISIS-Somalia. On February 1, the United States in coordination with the Federal Government of Somalia (US Africa Air Command) conducted an operation, taking out multiple ISIS operatives in the process.
