Islamic State Group Leader Eliminated in Syria by US Drone Strike, Confirms Defense Department

The Defense Department reports that a leader of the Islamic State group in Syria was taken out in a U.S. drone strike, following a previous encounter between the same MQ-9 Reaper drones and Russian military jets in the country’s western region.

On Friday, three Reapers had been surveilling the area in search of the militant when Russian aircraft began to engage them in a two-hour confrontation, a U.S. defense official disclosed. Following this incident, the drones successfully targeted and eliminated Usamah al-Muhajir, who was traveling on a motorcycle in the Aleppo region. The official, who remained anonymous due to lack of authority to discuss the matter publicly, provided these details about the operation.

Although al-Muhajir was in northwest Syria during the strike, he is known to usually operate in the eastern regions.

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How the U.S. military confirmed al-Muhajir’s identity at the time of the strike remains undisclosed.

On Sunday, U.S. Central Command announced there were no signs of civilian casualties resulting from the strike. They are, however, investigating reports of a civilian possibly being injured.

For three consecutive days, U.S. officials have protested against the unsafe and disruptive behavior of Russian fighter jets around American drones.

U.S. Air Forces Central Command’s Lt. Gen. Alex Grynkewich stated on Friday that the Russian planes had made “18 unprofessional close passes that caused the MQ-9s to react to avoid unsafe situations.”

The first incident took place on Wednesday morning when Russian military planes exhibited “unsafe and unprofessional behavior” against three American MQ-9 drones carrying out a mission against IS, as per the U.S. military. On Thursday, it was reported that Russian fighter aircraft acted “incredibly unsafe and unprofessionally” against both French and U.S. aircraft over Syria.

Air Forces Central Command spokesman, Col. Michael Andrews, noted that the Thursday encounter lasted almost an hour, involving close fly-bys by one SU-34 and one SU-35, which fired flares directly at the MQ-9.

While the drones were unarmed during the earlier encounters, they were equipped with weapons on Friday while targeting al-Muhajir.

Gen. Erik Kurilla, commander of U.S. Central Command, stated, “We have made it clear that we remain committed to the defeat of ISIS throughout the region.”

Meanwhile, Rear Adm. Oleg Gurinov, head of the Russian Reconciliation Center for Syria, announced that a six-day joint training exercise with the Syrian military had commenced. He also expressed Moscow’s concern over the U.S.-led coalition’s drone flights over northern Syria, labeling them as “systematic violations of protocols” meant to prevent conflicts between the two militaries.

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