He also led the Khorasan Group, a group of al Qaeda operatives that plotted attacks on the West from Syria.
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Al-Fadhli was considered a senior member of external operations for Khorasan, responsible for organizing attacks outside the country. Davis did not further elaborate on the nature of the air strike, such as whether al-Fadhli was killed by a drone or a piloted aircraft.
Al-Fadhli was the leader of a network of veteran al-Qaeda operatives in Syria who were planning attacks against the USA and allies, Davis said. He was sent to join the al-Nusrah Front, the official branch of al Qaeda in Syria, after a dispute between Al Nusrah and the Islamic State.
Al-Fadhli’s death will “degrade and disrupt ongoing external operations of al-Qaeda against the United States”, Davis said.
The leader of a terrorist group bent on attacking the United States and other western targets was killed in a targeted strike earlier this month, the Pentagon said Tuesday.
According to classified USA intelligence assessments, the Khorasan militants have been working with bomb-makers from al-Qaida’s Yemen affiliate to test new ways to slip explosives past airport security.
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A US official speaking on condition of anonymity said later that al-Fadhli was believed to have been killed, but the Pentagon and White House said they were not able to confirm that.
