High-ranking ISIS leader killed during US airstrike close to the Turkish border

While the region of North and East Syria continues to struggle with ongoing and sporadic terrorist attacks, perpetrated by ISIS militants and affiliates, a US-led airstrike just recently killed one of ISIS’ most high-ranking leaders, who was known as the main planer of several attacks in Europe.

On April 03, 2023, former ISIS senior leader „Khalid Ahmad Al-Juburi“ was killed by a US-spearheaded drone strike in the Northern countryside of Idlib, according to an official statement, issued by the US Central Command. The statement further indicated that the killing of Al-Jubrui will severely hamper and thwart future ISIS attacks for a certain period, while it was also stressed that the US government will continue its fight against terrorism in Syria and Iraq.

According to the US Central Command: „ISIS is still a threat to the region and beyond, and the latest air strike did not kill or injure civilians“. This latest US airstrike again occurred within a series of continuous attacks in the past years against high-ranking ISIS leaders that were carried out in Northwestern Syria, which is currently under the control of Turkish-affiliated opposition factions and militant groups, most notably the Hayat Tahrir Ash-Sham/Jabhat Al-Nusra (HTS).

This incident indeed again sparked the continuous debate on the overwhelming presence of ISIS leaders and members of terrorist groups near the Turkish border, considered to constitute a haven for many criminal fugitives and beginning with the killing of Abu Ibrahim Al-Quraishi in the city of Atma in Idlib’s countryside and continuing with the assassinations of Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi in the Syrian town of Barisha as well as Maher Al-Aqaal, who was killed in a US drone strike attack, near the town of Jinderis in Northern Aleppo.