Top commander close to al Qaeda leader killed in airstrike in Syria

Ahmed Salama Mabrouk, a top commander with the al Qaeda affiliate in Syria, was killed Monday in an airstrike, the group said.

The Fatah al-Sham Front, formerly known as Nusra Front, made the announcement after the Pentagon said that an airstrike had taken place in Syria, targeting a high-ranking leader. Spokesman Peter Cook said if confirmed, Mabrouk's death would "disrupt and degrade coordination among senior AQ leaders and extremists." Another senior commander from the group was killed in an airstrike in September.

Mabrouk, a native of Egypt, was imprisoned there in 1981, and later made his way to Afghanistan. He became close with al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri, and went to Syria earlier this year. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said Mabrouk was killed in his car while near the border with Turkey.

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