Biden: the U.S. does not require thousands of troops to eliminate threats

“The men and women of the U.S. military and of our intelligence community successfully executed an airstrike against one of the top leaders of ISIS, Maher al Agal.” Biden said.

“His death in Syria takes a key terrorist off the field and significantly degrades the ability of ISIS to plan, resource, and conduct their operations in the region. And, like the U.S. operation in February that eliminated ISIS’s overall leader, it sends a powerful message to all terrorists who threaten our homeland and our interests around the world. The United States will be relentless in its efforts to bring you to justice.”

“This airstrike represents the culmination of determined and meticulous intelligence work and stands as testament to the bravery and skill of our armed forces. It also demonstrates that the United States does not require thousands of troops in combat missions to identify and eliminate threats to our country.” The U.S. President added. 

Earlier, the U.S. military said the ISIS leader in Syria, one of the top five militant group leaders, had been killed in a U.S. air strike.

In a statement, U.S. Central Command said Maher al-Agal had been killed in a drone strike in northwestern Syria, and a close associate was seriously injured.

It said al-Agal was responsible for developing ISIS networks outside Iraq and Syria.