US kills 11 al-Qaeda members in Syria

ASTANA. KAZINFORM US Forces killed 11 al-Qaeda operatives in two air strikes near the Syrian city of Idlib this month, including a former Osama Bin Laden' ally, Kazinform has learnt from BBC .

According to a spokesman, Captain Jeff Davis, 10 operatives were killed in a single air strike on 3 February.

And Abu Hani al-Masri was killed in a second strike on 4 February. Al-Masri had close ties to the late al-Qaeda leader.

It is believed that he set up and run al-Qaeda training camps in Afghanistan in 1980s and 1990s.

Abu Hani al-Masri also had close ties to Ayman al-Zawahiri, who leaded al-Qaeda after Bin Laden was killed by US military in 2011.

Al-Qaeda's influence in Syria operates largely through an affiliate Jabhat Fateh al-Sham.

In mid-2016 Fateh al-Sham announced that it was no longer affiliated with any external groups, rising speculation that it had cut ties with al-Qaeda.

However it is thought that its leadership structure is still intertwined with al-Qaeda.

A US operation against al-Qaeda in Yemen last week was the first military action authorized by Donald Trump. It resulted in the death of one Navy Seal and up to 16 civilians, according to reports.

Trump's administration declared operation a success, saying it had yielded valuable intelligence.