A U.S. airstrike in northwest Syria killed a senior Islamic State leader, U.S. Central Command announced Wednesday, the latest in a sustained campaign against the militant group’s remnants.
The Friday strike targeted Ali Husayn al-Ulaywi, whom Central Command described as a senior figure in the organization. In a statement, the command said the attack was “part of ongoing U.S. efforts to disrupt and eliminate terrorists seeking to attack Americans abroad or the U.S. homeland.”
The operation occurred roughly a month after a joint U.S.-Nigerian mission killed Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, who at the time was believed to be the Islamic State’s second-in-command. That operation took place in the Lake Chad region.
U.S. forces have been battling the Islamic State and its predecessors for more than a decade across Iraq, Syria, Nigeria, and other locations in the Middle East and North Africa. The fight has been intertwined 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,” Adm. Brad Cooper, CENTCOM commander, said in the announcement.
The United States has continued to target Islamic State leaders in Syria and elsewhere through airstrikes and partnered operations, even as the group has lost most of its territorial holdings in recent years.