US says seven al Qaeda leaders killed in Syria airstrike

The United States believes it killed seven al Qaeda leaders in an airstrike over Syria.

U.S. Central Command said on Monday that the strike took place on Oct. 22, and the leaders, who have not been identified by name, were meeting near Idlib.

“The removal of these AQ-S leaders will disrupt the terrorist organization’s ability to further plot and carryout global attacks threatening U.S. citizens, our partners, and innocent civilians,” said Central Command spokeswoman Maj. Beth Riordan.

“AQ-S takes advantage of the instability in northwest Syria to establish and maintain safe havens to coordinate terrorist activities,” she added. “With our allies and partners, we will continue to target al-Qaida and other terrorist organizations.”

Another airstrike was conducted near Idlib on Oct. 15.