US military says senior Islamic State group leader killed in Syria air strike
Key takeaways
- US Central Command on Wednesday said that US forces had conducted an air strike in northwestern Syria that killed Ali Husayn al-Ulaywi, a senior Islamic State group leader, last Friday.
- By: FRANCE 24 File photo: A fighter with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) stands guard during a meeting with the US-led coalition against the Islamic State group in Deir Hafer, Syria on January 16, 2026.
- The IS group has declared a new phase of operations in Syria against the government of President Ahmed al-Sharaa, carrying out a spate of attacks since February.
Why this matters: an international story with cross-border implications worth tracking.
US Central Command on Wednesday said that US forces had conducted an air strike in northwestern Syria that killed Ali Husayn al-Ulaywi, a senior Islamic State group leader, last Friday.
By: FRANCE 24 File photo: A fighter with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) stands guard during a meeting with the US-led coalition against the Islamic State group in Deir Hafer, Syria on January 16, 2026. © Baderkhan Ahmad, AP The US military conducted an airstrike in northwestern Syria last week that killed a senior Islamic State (IS) group leader, US Central Command said on Wednesday.
The strike, carried out on Friday, was part "of ongoing US efforts to disrupt and eliminate terrorists seeking to attack Americans abroad or the US homeland" and killed Ali Husayn al-Ulaywi, it said in a statement on X.