The United States successfully eliminated a senior military leader of an Al-Qaeda affiliate in a targeted operation, marking a significant blow to the terrorist group's operational capabilities. The strike, carried out by U.S. forces in a high-stakes mission, targeted the leader, Muhammed Yusuf Ziya Talay, in an effort to weaken the network's influence in the region. This operation underscores the Trump administration’s ongoing commitment to dismantling terrorist organizations that threaten global security.
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed that its forces successfully targeted and killed the senior military leader of Hurras al-Din, an Al-Qaeda affiliate recognized as a terrorist organization by the U.S. State Department on February 23. This operation is part of ongoing efforts to "disrupt and degrade" terrorist groups, aiming to prevent attacks on civilians and military personnel from the U.S. and its allies. Hurras al-Din was formed in 2018 after the Nusrah Front terror group split from Al-Qaeda. It primarily operates in Syria’s Idlib Province and has approximately 2,500 members.
The terrorist group “advocates attacks against the West and Israel to expel foreign influence from Muslim lands, and it seeks to set the conditions necessary to form a new caliphate across the Levant and the broader Middle East.”
CENTCOM Forces Kill the Senior Military Leader of Al-Qaeda Affiliate Hurras al-Din (HaD) in Syria
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) March 1, 2025
On Feb. 23, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) forces conducted a precision airstrike in Northwest Syria, targeting and killing Muhammed Yusuf Ziya Talay, the senior military leader of… pic.twitter.com/trhDvgdgne
“As we have said in the past, we will continue to pursue relentlessly these terrorists in order to defend our homeland and U.S., allied, and partner personnel in the region," Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla, commander of U.S. Central Command, said in a press release.
The strike came a week after CENTCOM forces conducted an airstrike that targeted and killed a “senior finance and logistics official” with Hurras al-Din.
In February, CENTCOM also eliminated a senior finance and logistics official from the terrorist group, along with Wasim Tahsin Bayraqdar, described as a "senior leadership facilitator" for Hurras al-Din.