A senior leader of the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Hurras al-Din group, Abu Abdul Rahman al-Makki, was killed in a US drone strike in northwestern Syria on Friday. Makki, a Saudi national and prominent figure within the group, was targeted while riding a motorcycle in Idlib province's Jabal al-Zawiya area, which is controlled by opposition forces. According to US Central Command, Makki was responsible for overseeing terrorist activities in Syria and was a member of the Hurras al-Din Shura Council.

“CENTCOM remains committed to the enduring defeat of terrorists in the CENTCOM area of responsibility who threaten the United States, its allies and partners, and regional stability," said CENTCOM commander Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla.

“Hurras al-Din is an Al-Qaeda-associated force based in Syria that shares Al-Qaeda's global aspirations to conduct attacks against US and Western interests," CENTCOM added.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced earlier in the month that US military forces would be repositioned across the Middle East to support ally Israel.

In September 2019, the US designated Hurras al-Din as a "Specially Designated Global Terrorist" under Executive Order 13224.

Around 2017-18, the Nusrah Front in Syria split from al-Qaeda and merged with other anti-Syrian government groups to form Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). Al-Qaeda loyalists who opposed this merger established Hurras al-Din, which became al-Qaeda’s official branch in Syria in February 2018. Hurras al-Din mainly operates in Idlib Province but has also conducted attacks in Ar Raqqah Province and Damascus in 2021.

The US military has approximately 900 troops stationed in Syria as part of the international coalition against the Islamic State group. This coalition, formed in 2014, was created to combat the jihadists who had seized large areas of Iraq and Syria.