The United States announced this Saturday (17) that it conducted a lethal attack in Syria against an al Qaeda affiliate leader. According to the US, he had direct links to a member of the group that killed three Americans in early December.
“The death of a terrorist operative linked to the deaths of three Americans demonstrates our determination to pursue terrorists who attack our forces,” said Admiral Brad Cooper, commander of U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), in a statement on X.
CENTCOM said Bilal Hasan al-Jasim “was an experienced terrorist leader” and “was directly linked” to the Islamic States gunman who killed two US military personnel and a civilian interpreter on December 13, 2025, in Palmyra, Syria.
A CNN contacted CENTCOM for comment on the operation and to obtain details about the leader’s alleged links to the December attack.
The US has retaliated against the Islamic State through a campaign titled “Operation Hawkeye Strike”.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth responded to CENTCOM’s post, writing in the X: “We will never forget and we will never relent.”
