An al-Qaeda element with ties to the group's senior leadership was killed in an airstrike in Syria last month, the Pentagon said Wednesday (November 2nd).
According to Pentagon spokesman Navy Capt. Jeff Davis, the October 17th strike near Idlib killed Haydar Kirkan, who "was intent on plotting and carrying out attacks against the west", AFP reported.
"He was a long serving and experienced courier for al-Qaeda in Syria. He had ties to al-Qaeda's senior leaders to include Osama bin Laden himself, and he was al-Qaeda's senior external terror attack planner in Syria," Davis said.
