The Pentagon said Tuesday that it killed a leader of the Islamic State group in Syria in a drone strike.

What You Need To Know

  • The Pentagon said Tuesday that it killed Maher al-Agal, a leader of the Islamic State group in Syria, in a drone strike

  • There were no civilian casualties as a result of the attack, according to the Pentagon

  • The attack, Biden wrote, "takes a key terrorist off the field and significantly degrades the ability of ISIS to plan, resource, and conduct their operations in the region"

  • The strike on al-Agal comes months after the head of the group, Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi, killed himself during a raid on his hideout by American special forces

U.S. Central Command said in a news release that Maher al-Agal was killed Tuesday and an unidentified senior official in the Islamic State group was seriously injured. The Pentagon said there were no civilian casualties, though it wasn’t possible to immediately confirm that information.

The U.S. carried out the strike outside Jindaris, a town in northwest Syria close to the Turkish border.

"Today, the men and women of the U.S. military and of our intelligence community successfully executed an airstrike against one of the top leaders of ISIS, Maher al Agal," President Joe Biden wrote in a statement.

The attack, Biden wrote, "takes a key terrorist off the field and significantly degrades the ability of ISIS to plan, resource, and conduct their operations in the region."

"And, like the U.S. operation in February that eliminated ISIS’s overall leader, it sends a powerful message to all terrorists who threaten our homeland and our interests around the world," he continued. "The United States will be relentless in its efforts to bring you to justice."

The Islamic State group at the height of its power controlled more than 40,000 square miles stretching from Syria to Iraq and ruled more than 8 million people. While the group’s territorial state collapsed in 2019, its leaders have turned to guerilla tactics and have been able to “efficiently restructure themselves organizationally,” according to the Washington-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a nonpartisan think tank.

The strike on al-Agal comes months after the head of the group, Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi, killed himself during a raid on his hideout by American special forces. The U.S. said Al-Qurayshi blew himself up along with members of his family.

According to a war monitor, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, al-Agal was a former prominent commander of the Islamic State group during its control of Raqqa and had since moved farther north to Afrin in 2020 under Turkish-backed factions. He was most recently a commander in a Turkish-backed faction called Jaysh Al-Sharqiyyah.

U.S.-led coalition forces have also targeted al-Qaeda-linked militants in Syria over the years. Last month, a U.S. drone strike killed a senior leader of the Horas al-Din group, Abu Hamzah al Yemeni.

"This airstrike represents the culmination of determined and meticulous intelligence work and stands as testament to the bravery and skill of our armed forces," the president said. "It also demonstrates that the United States does not require thousands of troops in combat missions to identify and eliminate threats to our country."

On behalf of the American people, whose lives they protect every day, I thank them for their service, their dedication, their professionalism, and for the teamwork that led to this successful outcome," Biden added. "The American people — and our allies and partners — are safer today because of their actions."

CENTCOM has said that violent extremist organizations “continue to present a threat to America and our allies, and ... al-Qaeda-affiliated groups have used the rebel-held enclave in northwestern Syria as a safe haven.”

This is a developing story. Check back later for updates.