Statement by Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook on Strike Against Al Qaida Facilitator
Jan. 19, 2017

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.