US says it killed 11 al-Qaeda operatives in Syria air strikes

US forces killed 11 members of al-Qaeda in two air
strikes near Idlib in Syria, this month, including a
former ally of Osama Bin Laden, the Pentagon
said.
Captain Jeff Davis, a spokesman, said 10
operatives were killed in a single strike on 3
February.

A second strike on 4 February killed Abu Hani al-
Masri, who had close ties to the late al-Qaeda
leader, he said.

Al-Masri is said to have set up and run al-Qaeda
training camps in Afghanistan during the 1980s
and 1990s.

He also had close ties to Ayman al-Zawahiri, who
became the leader of al-Qaeda when Bin Laden
was killed by US forces in 2011.
"These strikes disrupt al-Qaeda's ability to plot
and direct external attacks targeting the US and
our interests worldwide," said Capt Davis.