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

Fighters from the Fatah al-Sham Front.
(Image credit: Omar Haj Kadour/AFP/Getty Images)

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.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.