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Al Qaeda’s Chief of Bombing Attacks Died in U.S. Strike, Pentagon Says | Al Qaeda’s Chief of Bombing Attacks Died in U.S. Strike, Pentagon Says |
(about 1 hour later) | |
ERBIL, Iraq — The Qaeda operative in charge of suicide bombings and operations involving explosives was killed in an American airstrike in Afghanistan this month, the Pentagon said on Friday. | ERBIL, Iraq — The Qaeda operative in charge of suicide bombings and operations involving explosives was killed in an American airstrike in Afghanistan this month, the Pentagon said on Friday. |
The operative, Abu Khalil al-Sudani, had been directly involved in plots against the United States as well as against American, Afghan and Pakistani forces, Defense Department officials said. They described Mr. Sudani as a close associate of Ayman al-Zawahri, the Qaeda leader. A Defense Department news release referred to him as “a senior shura member,” referring to a decision-making council. | |
Mr. Sudani was killed on July 11 in an airstrike in the Bermal district of Paktika Province in Afghanistan, according to the Pentagon. | Mr. Sudani was killed on July 11 in an airstrike in the Bermal district of Paktika Province in Afghanistan, according to the Pentagon. |
Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter, who arrived Friday morning in Erbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, for talks with Kurdish leaders, said in a statement that the death of Mr. Sudani showed that the United States would “continue to take the fight to Al Qaeda.” | Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter, who arrived Friday morning in Erbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, for talks with Kurdish leaders, said in a statement that the death of Mr. Sudani showed that the United States would “continue to take the fight to Al Qaeda.” |
“We will continue to counter violent extremism in the region and around the world, including efforts to deliver a lasting defeat to ISIL,” Mr. Carter added, in a reference to the Islamic State, the Sunni militant group that holds territory in Iraq and Syria. | “We will continue to counter violent extremism in the region and around the world, including efforts to deliver a lasting defeat to ISIL,” Mr. Carter added, in a reference to the Islamic State, the Sunni militant group that holds territory in Iraq and Syria. |