The leader of the Islamic State in Syria killed in an American drone strike: what impact on the jihadist group?
“Every time an ISIS leader is killed, he is replaced in the process”
Damien Ferré, founder of Jihad Analytics, which specializes in the analysis of global jihad and cyber, told AFP that the death of this leader “should not really impact” the jihadist group.
“Every time an IS leader is killed, he is replaced in the process,” he said.
But “ISIS in Syria is only a shadow of its former self,” the analyst stressed.
“It is still able to carry out attacks against Syrian forces and carry out operations against Kurdish forces here and there, but this has nothing to do with the period of the ‘caliphate’.”
The organization has also expanded its influence to other parts of the world such as the Sahel area, Nigeria, Yemen and Afghanistan, where it regularly claims responsibility for attacks.
The leader of the Islamic State group in Syria was killed on Tuesday in a US drone strike in the northwest of the country, the Pentagon said.
Maher al-Agal, described as “one of the five highest leaders” of ISIS, was killed while riding a motorcycle near the town of Jandairis and his closest adviser was “seriously injured,” the Pentagon said in a statement.
He was “tasked with incisively pursuing the development of ISIS networks outside Iraq and Syria,” said U.S. army Central Command spokesman in the Middle East, Col. Joe Buccino.
