Maher Al-Agal was assassinated by a U.S drone in northwest Syria
image source: Wilson Centre
Al-Agal was one of the top five leaders of ISIS, who was responsible for the aggressive development of organizations outside Syria and Iraq. He was most recently a commander in a Turkish-backed faction called Jaysh Al-Sharqiyyah. Al-Agal was taken out after being targeted near Jindayris, in the northwest region of the country. U.S military confirmed the death of Al-Agal on Tuesday.
Drone strike injured an associate of Al-Agal’s, his life status is still not confirmed to the authorities, though no civilian was harmed in the act, confirmed CENTCOM (United States Central Command), the operation was strategically crafted in order to ensure the success.
The assassination deals another blow to ISIS, which is attempting to reclaim control of the territory it once controlled, another setback after losing two of its leaders in the span of a year. The attack occurred five months after Abu Ibrahim al-Qurashi, the head of the Islamic State, was killed in a US midnight operation in the northern Syrian town of Atme.
The United States now maintains about 900 troops in Syria, largely in the east of the country that has been split apart by a decade-long civil war. An unidentified drone reportedly struck a motorcycle in a village in the northern countryside of the Aleppo region, killing two persons although their identities were not made public, according to the Syrian Civil Defence, a humanitarian organization working in opposition-held regions.
Between 2014 and 2017, when ISIS was at its greatest position, the Islamic State-controlled millions of people and claimed responsibility for or served as an inspiration for attacks in dozens of cities around the globe. According to NBC News, US Army Col. Joe Buccino said “The removal of these ISIS leaders will disrupt the terrorist organization’s ability to further the plot and carry out attacks.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirmed that Agal was killed in a drone strike. Maher al-Agal was killed while riding a motorcycle near Jindayris in Syria, and one of his top aides was seriously injured, Pentagon Central Command spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Dave Eastburn said.
