Al Qaeda-linked militant killed in Syria strike, US says

Death comes during drawdown of American troops from Iraq

The US has pulled out of Tel Baydar base in the north-eastern city of Hasaka as the Pentagon assesses operations in Syria. Reuters

The US military killed a senior Al Qaeda-linked member in an air strike in Syria last week, its Central Command has said.

Centcom said Muhammad Al Ahmad was a member of the Al Qaeda-affiliated group Ansar Al Islam. He was killed on October 2.

“We will continue to defend our homeland, warfighters, allies and partners throughout the region and beyond,” Centcom head Admiral Brad Cooper said in a statement on Tuesday.

The killing comes after the Pentagon recommitted itself to scaling back its mission in Iraq under a plan that focuses troops on combating ISIS remnants in Syria.

The US had approximately 2,500 troops in Iraq at the start of 2025 and more than 900 in Syria as part of a coalition formed in 2014 to combat ISIS as it controlled much of the two countries.

Commander of the US Central Command Admiral Brad Cooper met Syrian interim President Ahmad Al Shara in Damascus on Tuesday. AFP

Once the transitions are completed, the total number of US forces in Iraq will number fewer than 2,000, and the majority of them will be in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region, a defence official has said. A final number and timeline have yet to be determined.

The US agreed last year to depart Iraq's Ain Al Asad air base in western Anbar province and hand it over to Baghdad. Washington has remained concerned about the presence of ISIS fighters in Syria and the risk that thousands being held in prisons in the Kurdish-controlled areas could be freed.

Syria's President Ahmad Al Shara, a former leader of an Al Qaeda offshoot, led rebel forces that overthrew Bashar Al Assad's government last year. US President Donald Trump has warmed to the new leadership in Damascus.