File image.
On February 24, a foreign jihadist was killed in the northwestern Syrian region of Greater Idlib in a drone strike that was blamed on the United States.
The jihadist, who was identified only as Abu Obada al-Iraqi, was traveling with another person on a road near the town of Kah in the northern Idlib countryside when his motorcycle was targeted by a combat drone. The strike split the motorcycle in half and killed the jihadist and his companion on the spot.
Click to see full-size image. Via Twitter.
Click to see full-size image. Via Twitter.
Some sources said that Abu Obada was a senior commander of Horas al-Din, while others said he was with Ansar al-Din Front. Both terrorist groups operate in Greater Idlib in coordination with al-Qaeda-affiliated Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the de-facto ruler of the region.
U.S. MQ-9 Reaper combat drones were spotted over Greater Idlib on several occasions in the weeks leading to the deadly strike.
The U.S. has not yet denied or confirmed its responsibility for the drone strike. Usually, the Central Command announces such operations within a few days.
The U.S. have been using combat drones to hunt down wanted terrorists in Greater Idlib for around three years. Nevertheless, the remote assassination campaign has not yet targeted any members of HTS, which is designated by Washington as a terrorist group.
