Picture used for illustrative purposes only.

The US military says it killed a senior Al Qaeda leader in an airstrike on Friday in northwest Syria.

Army Maj. John Rigsbee, a spokesman for US Central Command, said in a statement that Abdul Hamid Al Matar was killed by a drone strike.

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Rigsbee said the killing of Al Matar will disrupt Al Qaeda's "ability to further plot and carry out global attacks threatening US citizens, our partners, and innocent civilians." He said Al Qaeda "uses Syria as a base for threats reaching into Syria, Iraq and beyond.”

The drone strike came two days after a US military outpost in southern Syria was hit by a coordinated attack that included drones and rockets, according to The Associated Press.

US officials said no American troops stationed there were injured or killed.