US conducts air strike in Syria; senior al-Qaeda leader killed

The US has conducted air strikes in Syria in which a senior al-Qaeda leader is believed to have been killed, the Pentagon has said.

US airplanes carried out the strikes on Monday near Idlib, targeting Abu al-Farai al-Masri aka Ahmad Salamah Mabruk, one of Al-Qaeda in Syria's most senior leaders. However, the Pentagon is yet to confirm his death.

"US forces conducted an airstrike today near Idlib, Syria, targeting Egyptian national Abu al-Farai al-Masri, aka Ahmad Salamah Mabruk, one of al-Qaeda in Syria's most senior leaders and a legacy al-Qaeda terrorist who previously had ties to Osama bin Laden," Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook said.

"We are still assessing the results of the strike," he said.

"His death, if confirmed, would disrupt and degrade coordination among senior AQ leaders and extremists," Cook said, adding that the US military will continue to target al- Qaeda leaders to disrupt their operations and counter the threat posed by this terrorist group.