US air raids in Syria have likely killed a French bombmaker who was a leader of an al-Qaeda offshoot accused of plotting attacks on the West, a defence official said Thursday.
David Drugeon was a Muslim convert suspected of working with al-Qaeda veterans in what Washington calls the Khorasan group, which American officials say is a dangerous militant outfit planning to attack the United States and other Western countries.
US officials have portrayed Drugeon, 24, as a dangerous figure and his death will be touted as a serious setback for the Khorasan group.
"He was among the targets," a senior US defence official who spoke on condition of anonymity told AFP. "We think we got him."
But it will take time to confirm his death with absolute certainty, particularly as there are no US troops deployed on Syrian soil, the official added.
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It was only the second strike against the Khorasan group since September 23, when US-led air raids began in Syria. In that operation, Tomahawk cruise missiles targeted the Khorasan militants but US officials said it was unclear if key leaders had been taken out then.
The US military's Central Command, which oversees the air war against the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria, said warplanes carried out air strikes against Khorasan militants, vehicles and locations used to produce homemade bombs, but did not say if Drugeon was hit.
US aircraft struck Khorasan again because they have "a history of training operatives, facilitating fighters and money, and planning attacks against US and Western targets", Central Command said in a statement.
While touted as a small victory, the air raids illustrated the difficulties Washington faces as it tries to carry out its fight against the IS - and other extremists - while avoiding being drawn into Syria's complex civil war and a direct confrontation with the Damascus regime.
The US military made a point of saying the air strikes against Khorasan "were not in response" to recent fighting in which Al-Nusra militants have pushed back moderate rebel forces.
The strikes "did not target the Nusra Front as a whole" Central Command said.
They "were directed at the Khorasan group, whose focus is not on overthrowing the Assad regime or helping the Syrian people," it said. "These Al-Qaeda operatives are taking advantage of the Syrian conflict to advance attacks against Western interests."
