US carries out lethal strike against al Qaeda affiliate leader in Syria
By Aleena Fayaz, CNN
(CNN) — The US on Saturday announced it conducted a lethal strike in Syria on an al Qaeda affiliate leader it says had direct ties to an ISIS attacker who killed three Americans in early December.
“The death of a terrorist operative linked to the deaths of three Americans demonstrates our resolve in pursuing terrorists who attack our forces,” Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of US Central Command, said in a release on X.
CENTCOM said Bilal Hasan al-Jasim “was an experienced terrorist leader” and “was directly connected” to the ISIS gunman who killed two US service members and a civilian interpreter on December 13, 2025, in Palmyra, Syria.
CNN has reach out to CENTCOM for comment on the strike and details on the leader’s alleged ties to the December attack.
The US has been retaliating against ISIS following the deadly ambush through a series of strikes under the campaign titled “Operation Hawkeye Strike.”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth responded to CENTCOM’s post, writing on X, “We will never forget, and never relent.”
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