| CNN | - |
(CNN)
The leader of an al Qaeda-linked group allegedly bent on attacking the
West has been killed in an airstrike by the U.S.-led coalition in Syria,
U.S.
Top al Qaeda leader Sanafi al-Nasr killed in U.S. airstrike, Pentagon says
Story highlights
- Pentagon: Sanafi al-Nasr, a Saudi citizen, killed in air strike by U.S.-led coalition in Syria
- Nasr was the head of the Khorasan Group, said to be plotting attacks against the West
- He is the fifth senior Khorasan Group leader killed in the last four months
(CNN)The
leader of an al Qaeda-linked group allegedly bent on attacking the West
has been killed in an airstrike by the U.S.-led coalition in Syria,
U.S. officials said Sunday.
Sanafi al-Nasr, a Saudi citizen whose real name is Abdul Mohsen Adballah Ibrahim al Charekh, was the highest-ranking member of the Khorasan Group -- a collection of veteran al Qaeda jihadis which had moved into Syria, the Pentagon said in a statement.
He was killed in an airstrike in northwest Syria on Thursday, the statement said.
Nasr,
who was once al Qaeda's chief financial officer and had been designated
a Specially Designated Global Terrorist by the U.S. Treasury, is the
fifth senior Khorasan Group leader killed in the last four months, said
the statement.
An image from Twitter of Sanafi al-Nasr, a top Khorasan Group leader killed in a strike in Syria.
"The
United States will not relent in its mission to degrade, disrupt and
destroy al-Qaeda and its remnants," said Secretary of Defense Ash
Carter.
"This
operation deals a significant blow to the Khorasan Group's plans to
attack the United States and our allies, and once again proves that
those who seek to do us harm are not beyond our reach."
Nasr's death was referred to widely on jihadist social media sites, where he was mourned as a martyr.
'Significant blow'
Nasr
had played a significant role in the group's finances and had also been
instrumental in organizing routes for new recruits to travel, via
Turkey, from Pakistan to Syria, the Pentagon said.
"Al-Nasr
was a longtime jihadist experienced in funneling money and fighters for
al-Qaeda. He moved funds from donors in the Gulf region into Iraq and
then to al-Qaeda leaders from Pakistan to Syria," the Pentagon spokesman
said in a statement.
CNN terrorism
analyst Paul Cruickshank said the death of Nasr represented a
"significant blow to al Qaeda," as he was one of the terror group's most
senior figures in Syria.
"He was a
highly influential strategist and prolific online propagandist and
previously played key operational roles for the terrorist organization
in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region and Iran, including a stint in
2012 as al Qaeda's chief financial officer," he said.
Since relocating to Syria in 2013, he had become a leading figure in the al Nusra Front, an al Qaeda affiliate, said Cruickshank.
"He
is believed to have worked to ensure the group remained within al
Qaeda's orbit and is also believed to have worked closely with deceased
Khorasan Group leader Muhsin al Fadhli," he said.
Pentagon: Khorasan terror leader killed 01:35
Fadhli, a Kuwaiti-born jihadi, was killed in a strike in Syria in July.
What is the Khorasan Group?
Khorasan's
existence wasn't publicly acknowledged in the U.S. until last year,
when U.S. director of national intelligence James Clapper said it was
operating in Iraq and Syria with a focus on exporting terror to the
West.
The Khorasan Group has actively plotted against U.S. and other Western targets, a senior U.S. official has said.
Former
leader Fadhli fought alongside al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan
and was among the few trusted al Qaeda leaders who received advance
notification of the September 11 attacks, according to the Pentagon.
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