U.S. Kills Senior Fateh al-Sham Leader in Syria Strike

A U.S. airstrike targeted a "prominent" al-Qaida leader in Syria on Monday, the Pentagon said, as the jihadist Fateh al-Sham Front, formerly al-Qaida's affiliate in Syria, confirmed that one of its senior leaders was killed in an air raid.

"We can confirm that we targeted a prominent al-Qaida member in Syria, and we are assessing the results of the operation at this time," Pentagon spokesman Navy Captain Jeff Davis said.

"This is a prominent al-Qaida leader," he added.

Fateh al-Sham Front meanwhile confirmed that a U.S.-led air strike killed one of its senior leaders, in a statement on the Telegram app.

"Ahmed Salama, known as Abu Faraj the Egyptian and a member of the shura (consultative council) of Fateh al-Sham Front, was martyred after a coalition air strike in the west of Idlib province," it said.

Davis said he was unable to discuss the target's identity until the Pentagon could confirm the strike was successful.

"Each time we remove a significant al-Qaida leader, we disrupt and degrade their command and control and halt their expansion," he said.

Mabrouk was born in 1956 in Egypt's Giza province. 

He is known as a veteran al-Qaida leader and a commander of the Fateh al-Sham Front, which changed its name from al-Nusra Front following a break with al-Qaida.