U.S. Kills Senior ISIS Leader Khalid Aydd Ahmad al-Jabouri in Syria Strike

The U.S. has launched an airstrike in Syria that killed a senior leader of the Islamic State militant group (ISIS) who had planned terror attacks in Europe, officials have revealed.

Khalid Aydd Ahmad al-Jabouri's death will "temporarily disrupt the organization's ability to plot external attacks," according to the U.S. Central Command (known as CENTCOM), which released a statement about the strike on Monday.

The exact location of Monday's attack in Syria was not revealed by CENTCOM, which said that no civilians were killed in the strike.

CENTCOM commander, General Michael E. Kurilla, said: "ISIS continues to represent a threat to the region and beyond. Though degraded, the group remains able to conduct operations with the region with a desire to strike beyond the Middle East."

Details about the European attacks were not provided, but the statement said that al-Jabouri "was responsible for planning ISIS attacks into Europe and developed the leadership structure for ISIS." The agency's "operations against ISIS alongside partner forces in Iraq and Syria continues," the statement added. "CENTCOM remains committed to the enduring defeat of ISIS."

Newsweek has reached out to CENTCOM by email for further information and comment.

ISIS, which the U.S. has designated as a terrorist organization, was an offshoot of Al Qaeda, responsible for the 9/11 attacks. The organization rose to prominence in 2014 when it took control of large parts of Syria and Iraq, including the northern city of Mosul in the latter. The group was responsible for the beheadings of Western hostages, including U.S. journalist James Foley who was murdered in 2014. Though its hold over Syrian and Iraqi territory would be greatly diminished with the intervention of a U.S-led international coalition—and its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi killed in 2019—the group has remained active through various manifestations in other parts of the world, including in several African countries, as well as in Afghanistan.

Monday's airstrike comes just weeks after U.S. forces and local partners conducted a helicopter raid in northeast Syria, resulting in the death of another ISIS leader. Four American soldiers and a working dog were wounded in the February 16 operation, which killed Hamza al-Homsi in the eastern Deir Ezzor province.

On February 10, weapons, ammunition, and a suicide belt were seized and another ISIS official, Ibrahim Al Qahtani—who was said to be involved in attacks on detention centers in Syria—was killed in a raid, CENTCOM said.

"A partnered D-ISIS raid on Feb 10th resulted in the seizure of multiple weapons, ammo, and a suicide belt," CENTCOM stated in a February 15 statement. "We can confirm Ibrahim Al Qahtani, an ISIS official associated with planning ISIS detention center attacks, was killed in the raid. 10,000+ ISIS detainees are held in Syria."