US kills senior military leader of Al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria

A senior military leader of the terrorist organization Hurras al-Din, an Al-Qaeda affiliate, was killed in a precision airstrike in Syria carried out by U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) forces, according to a press release.

Muhammed Yusuf Ziya Talay was killed in an airstrike that CENTCOM says is part of its efforts to "disrupt and degrade" terrorists’ plans to harm civilians or military personnel from the U.S. and its allies.

CENTCOM announced on March 1 that it had killed Muhammed Yusuf Ziya Talay, a senior leader of Al-Qaeda affiliate Hurras al-Din. (CENTCOM)

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"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, U.S. Central Command, said in a press release.

This announcement comes just after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed a CBS News report that President Donald Trump had eased restrictions on American commanders authorizing airstrikes and raids. Hegseth tweeted out a link to the report on Friday morning with the caption, "Correct."

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth arrives at the Pentagon, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025 in Washington.  (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf)

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Since January, CENTCOM has taken out multiple senior Hurras al-Din leaders. 

On Jan. 30, CENTCOM announced that it killed senior Hurras al-Din operative Muhammad Salah al-Za’bir in a similar precision airstrike in Syria. In the press release announcing the strike, Gen. Kurilla vowed "CENTCOM will continue to hunt and kill or capture terrorists."

The seal of the Department of Defense is seen on the podium at the Pentagon, Sept. 27, 2022, in Washington, D.C. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

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CENTCOM also killed an unnamed operative, who was a senior finance and logistics official in Hurras al-Din on Feb. 16. Additionally, on Feb. 22, CENTCOM said it killed Wasim Tahsin Bayraqdar, who they describe as "a senior leadership facilitator" of Hurras al-Din.

After the strike in mid-February, President Trump congratulated CENTCOM and Gen. Kurilla, saying that they "dealt justice to another jihadi threatening America and our allies and partners."

Fox News' Jennifer Griffin and Landon Mion contributed to this report.