U.S. Strikes Likely Killed French Bombmaker in Syria

U.S. air raids in Syria overnight targeted and likely killed French bomb-maker David Drugeon, who had joined an Al-Qaida offshoot, a defense official told AFP Thursday.

"He was among the targets," said the senior U.S. defense official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

"We think we got him," he said.

But it would take time to confirm Drugeon's death with absolute certainty, he added.

The 24-year-old Drugeon is a Muslim convert suspected of working with Al-Qaida veterans in what Washington calls the Khorasan Group, which American officials say is a dangerous militant cell plotting to attack Western countries.

American warplanes have hit the group once before, on the first day of U.S.-led air raids in Syria on September 23.

U.S. officials portrayed Drugeon as a dangerous figure and his death will be touted as a serious blow to the group.