A MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicle prepares to land after a mission in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Brian Ferguson)
On December 3, a man was killed and five people were wounded in a suspected US drone strike on the northwestern Syrian region of Greater Idlib, where several terrorist groups are known to be present and active.
The strike targeted a motorcycle that was moving on Almastumah-Arihah road in the southern countryside of Idlib, instantly killing the rider.
An SUV that was passing near the motorcycle was damaged as a result of the drone strike. Five civilians, all members of the same family, were slightly wounded. The wounded included three women and a child.
مقتل شخص، وإصابة 5 مدنيين من عائلة واحدة، بينهم 3 نساء و طفل بجروح خفيفة، اليوم الجمعة 3 كانون الأول، بقصف طائرة استطلاع مذخرة استهدف دراجة نارية على طريق أريحا_المسطومة جنوبي #إدلب، فرقنا انتشلت الجثة، وسلمتها للطبابة الشرعية وأمّنت المكان.#الخوذ_البيضاء pic.twitter.com/UtHPtmj933
— الدفاع المدني السوري (@SyriaCivilDefe) December 3, 2021
عاجل || مقتل شخص وإصابة عائلة كحصيلة اولية جراء استهداف طائرة مذخرة لسيارة على طريق المسطومة جنوب إدلب
📸: عبد الله السعد #MMC pic.twitter.com/WxI3rosVFv
— المركز الإعلامي العام MMC (@MMCSYR) December 3, 2021
طيران إستطلاع مذخر يُعتقد أنه تابع لـ “التحالف الدولي” يستهدف سيارة نوع سنتفيه على طريق المسطومة #أريحا بريف #إدلب الجنوبي ولم يُعرف من بداخل السيارة إلى الآن pic.twitter.com/zhxcGN6rPP
— خالد اسكيف (@khalediskef) December 3, 2021
Syrian oppositions sources claimed that the man killed in the strike was a senior commander of al-Qaeda-affiliated Horas al-Din. This is yet to be confirmed.
Around ten days ago, a heavily armed US General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper combat drone was spotted flying over Greater Idlib.
In September, a US drone strike targeted Horas al-Din senior leader Salim Abu-Ahmad in the eastern Idlib countryside. A few days before the strike, US combat drones were spotted flying over Greater Idlib.
The US have been using combat drones to hunt down wanted terrorists in Greater Idlib for the last two years. This remote assassination campaign has not yet targeted any commander of al-Qaeda-affiliated Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, the de-facto ruler of the region.
