Veteran al Qaeda leader killed in U.S. airstrike over Syria

Sanafi al-Nasr, a Saudi citizen and highest-ranking member of the Khorasan Group, has reportedly been killed in a U.S. airstrike this past Thursday, as reported by the Pentagon. The Khorasan Group is a group of long-standing, veteran al Qaeda members who recently moved into Syria; it encompasses many of al Qaeda's top leaders, including those involved in the 9/11 attacks. Nasr himself was at one point al Qaeda's main financial officer and was a "Specially Designated Global Terrorist," as labeled by the U.S. government. Nasr is the fifth Khorasan Group leader killed within the last four months.

Analysts say that Nasr's death is a "significant blow" to al Qaeda given that he was responsible for much of the group's activities in Syria. I think this news really ties in to the things we've been talking about in class, especially about terrorism and the rules of war (ie. the use of tactics such as drone airstrikes).

Nasr's death is unsurprisingly being mourned as martyrdom by jihadists.

Samantha Johnson