BEIRUT: The US military said it killed a senior operative of Al-Qaeda’s Syria branch in an air strike on northwestern Syria on Thursday.
The area was the stronghold of interim president Ahmed Al-Sharaa’s Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham group before it led the rebel offensive that toppled Bashar Assad in December.
“US Central Command forces conducted a precision air strike in northwest Syria targeting and killing Muhammad Salah Al-Zabir, a senior operative in the terrorist organization Hurras Al-Din, an Al-Qaeda affiliate,” CENTCOM said in a statement.
Britain based-war monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Zabir was killed when the vehicle he was traveling in on the Sarmada-Idlib road was hit by a US drone strike.
The US strike came days after Hurras Al-Din announced its dissolution in line with orders from the interim president.
The Observatory said Hurras Al-Din “announced its dissolution so as not to enter into armed conflict with HTS.”
Sharaa’s faction was Al-Qaeda’s Syria affiliate until it broke ties with the jihadist network in 2016.
The US-based SITE Intelligence Group said Hurras Al-Din was founded in February 2018.
It did not publicly confirm its allegiance to Al-Qaeda until its dissolution announcement on Tuesday.
The United States designated Hurras Al-Din as a “terrorist” organization in 2019 and has offered financial rewards for information on several of its members.
It carried out successive air strikes targeting the group’s leadership in northwestern Syria in August and September last year.
Washington also still blacklists HTS as a “terrorist” group, although it has lifted some of its sanctions against Sharaa’s group since it toppled Assad last year.
US says killed senior Qaeda operative in Syria strike
https://arab.news/p9rnw
US says killed senior Qaeda operative in Syria strike
- “US Central Command forces conducted a precision air strike in northwest Syria targeting and killing Muhammad Salah Al-Zabir,” CENTCOM said
- The US strike came days after Hurras Al-Din announced its dissolution in line with orders from the interim president
Spain highlights importance of Gaza reconstruction
- Spain officially recognized Palestine as a state in May 2024, in a coordinated move alongside Ireland and Norway
RAMALLAH: The Palestinian prime minister, Mohammed Mustafa, and the Spanish foreign minister, Jose Manuel Albares, on Friday discussed the latest developments in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
During their telephone conversation they emphasized the need to intensify international efforts to end the Israeli occupation and halt attacks and settler violence, and to secure the release of Palestinian funds held by Israeli authorities.
They affirmed the importance of ongoing efforts relating to plans for the reconstruction of Gaza, and Europe’s significant role in this process. Mustafa and Albares highlighted the need to unify Palestinian institutions in Gaza with those in the West Bank, with the aim of establishing a Palestinian state in line with international resolutions, including last year’s New York Declaration.
They also discussed coordination between their countries, and the strengthening of Spain’s political, diplomatic and financial support for Palestine, and Mustafa thanked Spain for its ongoing support.
Spain officially recognized Palestine as a state in May 2024, in a coordinated move alongside Ireland and Norway. Estephan Salameh, the Palestinian finance and planning minister, is set to visit Spain this month to discuss enhanced cooperation, particularly in the areas of development and reconstruction. Meanwhile, Israel continues operating in the occupied West Bank.
The Palestinian Prisoners media office said on Friday that Israel carried out numerous raids across the territory, including the major cities of Ramallah and Hebron, according to The Associated Press.
Nearly 50 people were detained, following the arrest of at least 50 other Palestinians on Thursday, most of those in the Ramallah area.
As 2026 begins, the shaky 12-week-old ceasefire between Israel and Hamas has largely ended large-scale Israeli bombardment of Gaza.
But Palestinians are still being killed by Israeli fire, especially along the so-called Yellow Line that delineates areas under Israeli control, and the humanitarian crisis is compounded by frequent winter rains and colder temperatures.
On Friday, American actor and film producer Angelina Jolie visited the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip.
The only crossing between the territory and a country other than Israel, it remains closed despite Palestinian requests to reopen it to people and aid.
Jolie met with members of the Red Crescent on the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing and then visited a hospital in the nearby city of Arish to speak with Palestinian patients on Friday, according to Egyptian officials.
Aid groups say not enough shelter materials are getting into Gaza during the truce.
