U.S. kills al Qaeda affiliate leader tied to December attack in Syria, Centcom says

WASHINGTON – U.S. military forces on Friday killed an al Qaeda affiliate leader linked to an Islamic State attack on Americans in Syria last ‌month, U.S. Central Command said in ‌a statement on Saturday.

Bilal ‌Hasan al-Jasim had “direct ties” to an ISIS gunman who killed and injured U.S. and ​Syrian personnel on December ‌13 in ⁠Palmyra, Syria, Central Command said.

“The death of a ‌terrorist operative linked to the deaths of three Americans demonstrates our ‌resolve in pursuing terrorists who attack our forces,” said Admiral Brad Cooper, the ‌head of ​U.S. ‌Central Command, in a statement. 

Since the December 13 attack, U.S. forces have been ‌conducting strikes in Syria, with the U.S. military saying it ​has hit more than 100 ISIS targets. 

“We will never forget, and never relent,” Defense Secretary Pete ⁠Hegseth said in an ​X post that included Centcom’s ⁠statement.

(Reporting by Susan Heavey and Deepa Seetharaman, Editing by Franklin Paul, Sergio Non, Rod Nickel)