ZENGİL– The U.S. military announced on Friday that it had killed a senior leader of the al-Qaeda-linked group Hurras al-Din (HaD) in an airstrike in northwestern Syria. Some Arab sources claimed that the killed individual was the brother of the Mufti of Damascus, appointed by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).
A statement from the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said, “In a precise airstrike on February 21 in northwestern Syria, Wasim Tahsin Bayraqdar, a senior facilitator of Hurras al-Din’s leadership, was killed.”
The statement emphasized that this operation is part of efforts to eliminate terrorist threats to the U.S. and its allies in the region, stating, “We will continue our efforts to disrupt terrorists’ plans to attack civilians and military targets, as well as their ability to organize and carry out such attacks.”
Competition Between HTS and Hurras al-Din Continues
The al-Qaeda-linked group Hurras al-Din broke away from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) in 2018 to form an independent faction. While HTS led the rebel coalition in Syria against the Bashar al-Assad regime, tensions occasionally flared between the two groups.
HTS, particularly in 2020, carried out numerous arrests of Hurras al-Din members, although there were also attempts at reconciliation between the two sides.
General Michael Erik Kurilla, Commander of CENTCOM, stated after the operation, “We will track and eliminate terrorist threats wherever they may be. We do this to protect our nation, our allies, and our partners.”
The U.S. military has previously conducted numerous airstrikes against Hurras al-Din, which it views as a threat to its presence in the region.
Some Arab sources claimed that the killed Wasim Tahsin Bayraqdar was the brother of the Mufti of Damascus, appointed by the Syrian interim government.
/Rûdaw/
