Statement by Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook on Strike Against Al Qaida Facilitator

Statement by Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook on Strike Against Al Qaida Facilitator

On Jan. 12, U.S. forces killed Abd al-Jalil al-Muslimi, an al-Qaida facilitator, in a precision airstrike near Saraqib, Syria. Muslimi, a Tunisian, was trained by the Taliban in the late 1990s, when he facilitated extremist travel for the terror group. He had extensive and long-standing ties to numerous al-Qaida external operations planners and terrorists.

The death of Abd al-Jalil al-Muslimi will degrade al-Qaida in Syria’s access to that cadre of veteran plotters, which will likely disrupt its ongoing terror plotting. Abd al-Jalil al-Muslimi’s role will be difficult for al-Qaida to fill, and the United States will continue to take action to deny these terrorists a safe haven in Syria from which to plot to attack the United States, our allies, or our interests.