U.S. airstrike kills senior ISIS leader in Syria
by Danielle Haynes · UPIJune 24 (UPI) -- A U.S. airstrike launched last week in northwest Syria killed a senior Islamic State leader, U.S. military officials announced Wednesday.
U.S. Central Command said the Friday attack killed Ali Husayn al-Ulaywi as "part of ongoing U.S. efforts to disrupt and eliminate terrorists seeking to attack Americans abroad or the U.S. homeland."
The announcement comes a little more than a month after U.S. and Nigerian forces killed Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, believed at the time to be second-in-command for USUS.
U.S. forces have been battling ISIS and its predecessors for more than a decade in Iraq, Syria, Nigeria and other locations throughout the Middle East and Northern Africa. This fight was entwined with both the Iraq war and the Syrian civil war.
"CENTCOM and our partners remain committed to rooting out remaining remnants of ISIS to ensure its enduring defeat," said Adm. Brad Cooper, CENTCOM commander.