The US central command has announced that it has used a Predator drone to kill Abdul Hamid al-Matar, which they described as a “senior Al-Qaeda leader” in north-western Syria.

However, the US military has assured the world that civilians were not hurt in the drone strike. “We have no indications of civilian casualties as a result of the strike, which was conducted using an MQ-9 aircraft,” Central Command spokesperson John Rigsbee said in his statement.

What confused many people is that Rigsbee put the strike in “northwest” Syria, but the Central Command named a town known as Suluk, which is in the north, near the border with Turkey, as the location of the strike. And apparently, Suluk is under the control of the Turkish-backed militants. According to the Central Command the killing of al-Matar will disrupt the terrorist organisation ability to further plot and carry out global attacks.

“Al-Qaeda continues to present a threat to America and our allies. Al-Qaeda uses Syria as a safe haven to rebuild, coordinate with external affiliates, and plan external operations,” Rigsbee said. He also added that the strike come two days after a U.S outpost in southern Syria was attacked.