Fri Jan 31 23:48:17 IST 2025: ## US Drone Strike Kills Al-Qaeda Operative in Syria
**Beirut, Lebanon – February 1, 2025** – The U.S. military conducted a drone strike in northwestern Syria, killing a senior operative of Al-Qaeda’s affiliate, Hurras al-Din, according to a statement released by U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) late Thursday. The targeted individual, Muhammad Salah al-Zabir, was reportedly killed while traveling on the Sarmada-Idlib road. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based war monitor, corroborated the report.
The strike comes days after Hurras al-Din announced its self-dissolution, a move reportedly designed to avoid conflict with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the group led by interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa. HTS, formerly Al-Qaeda’s Syrian branch, severed ties with the network in 2016, but remains blacklisted by the U.S. Although some sanctions have been lifted since HTS led the rebel offensive toppling Bashar al-Assad last December, the U.S. maintains its designation of HTS as a terrorist group.
Hurras al-Din, designated a terrorist organization by the U.S. in 2019, was founded in 2018 and only publicly acknowledged its allegiance to Al-Qaeda upon its dissolution announcement. The U.S. has previously conducted air strikes targeting the group’s leadership. This latest operation highlights the ongoing U.S. counterterrorism efforts in Syria.
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