Airstrike in Syria kills al-Qaeda leader

A U.S.-led coalition airstrike in northwest Syria on Thursday killed Sanafi al-Nasr, the top leader of the al Qaeda–linked Khorasan Group, the Pentagon said Sunday.

The military did not reveal any additional information about the strike, but did say al-Nasr, a Saudi national who moved to Syria in 2013, was the fifth senior Khorasan Group leader killed over the last four months. Not much is known about the Khorasan Group, NPR reports, but intelligence officials say it has "emerged as the cell in Syria that may be the most intent on, and capable of, striking the United States or its Western allies" in a terrorist attack.

Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook called al-Nasr a "long-time 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." Cook said al-Nasr also "organized and maintained routes for new recruits to travel from Pakistan to Syria through Turkey in addition to helping al Qaeda's external operations in the West." In 2012, al-Nasr took over al Qaeda's core finances, Cook said, and before that he worked for al Qaeda's facilitation network based in Iran. In a statement, U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said the death of al-Nasr "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."

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