FILE IMAGE: US Air Force MQ-9 Reaper
The US-led coalition announced on December 2 that it had eliminated Abu al-Umarayn, a prominent ISIS commander, along with other ISIS members in a precision strike in the Damascus desert.
“Al-Umarayn had given indications of posing an imminent threat to Coalition Forces and he was involved in the killing of American Citizen and former U.S. Army Ranger, Peter Kassig. He has been linked to and directly involved with executing several other prisoners as a senior ISIS member,” the US-led coalition said in an official statement.
According to FOX News, a unmanned combat air vehicle (UAV) of the US-led coalition conducted the precision strike which killed al-Umarayn and his group.
Peter Kassig was a former U.S. Army Ranger who began delivering humanitarian aid to areas held by the Syrian opposition in 2012. The 26-year-old aid worker was reportedly captured by ISIS fighters on October of 2013, as he was on his way to the governorate of Deir Ezzor to deliver food and medical supplies to refugees. A video of his execution was released by the terrorist group a year later.
The Damascus desert, where al-Umarayn was assassinated, is besieged by the Syrian Arab Army (SAA). This indicates that the US-led coalition had coordinated the operation with Damascus or Moscow.
