Latest news with #MuhammedYusufZiyaTalay
Gulf Insider
04-03-2025
- Politics
- Gulf Insider
First Footage Shows Bladed Hellfire Missile Killing Terrorists
US Central Command released the first-ever public footage of a bladed AGM-114R9X Hellfire Missile eliminating a senior leader of the Al-Qaeda-affiliated group Hurras al-Din in Syria last month. The caption of the CENTCOM video reads: CENTCOM Forces Kill the Senior Military Leader of Al-Qaeda Affiliate Hurras al-Din (HaD) in Syria On Feb. 23, US Central Command (CENTCOM) forces conducted a precision airstrike in Northwest Syria, targeting and killing Muhammed Yusuf Ziya Talay, the senior military leader of the terrorist organization Hurras al-Din (HaD), an Al-Qaeda affiliate . The airstrike is part of CENTCOM's ongoing commitment, along with partners in the region, to disrupt and degrade efforts by terrorists to plan, organize, and conduct attacks against civilians and military personnel from the US, our allies, and our partners throughout the region and beyond. 'As we have said in the past, we will continue to relentlessly pursue these terrorists in order to defend our homeland, and U.S., allied, and partner personnel in the region,' said Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla, commander, US Central Command. CENTCOM Forces Kill the Senior Military Leader of Al-Qaeda Affiliate Hurras al-Din (HaD) in SyriaOn Feb. 23, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) forces conducted a precision airstrike in Northwest Syria, targeting and killing Muhammed Yusuf Ziya Talay, the senior military leader of… — U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) March 1, 2025 CENTCOM's footage further confirmed videos published on X on Feb. 23, showing the aftermath of the strike, with damage on the vehicle consistent with the secretive bladed missile. The missile was presumably fired from a MQ-9 Reaper drone. #Syria: US just carried out another drone strike in #Idlib province. A car near Killi was targeted with multiple Ninja R9X missiles. The driver is dead. — Qalaat Al Mudiq (@QalaatAlMudiq) February 23, 2025 Click here to read more Also read: Houthis Target Israel's Ben Gurion Airport In Overnight Ballistic Missile Attack
Arab News
01-03-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
US says killed military leader of Syria Al-Qaeda affiliate
WASHINGTON: The US Army said Saturday it had killed a top military leader of Hurras Al-Din, a Syrian branch of Al-Qaeda which announced its dissolution in January. The US Central Command (CENTCOM), in charge of American forces in the Middle East, said in a statement that its forces on February 23 'conducted a precision airstrike in Northwest Syria, targeting and killing Muhammed Yusuf Ziya Talay, the senior military leader of the terrorist organization Hurras Al-Din.' Since Hurras Al-Din announced in late January that it was dissolving itself, US air strikes have killed several of the group's leaders, according to CENTCOM. On February 22, it said a 'precision air strike' had killed Wasim Tahsin Bayraqdar, a leader of the group which the US classifies as a terrorist organization. American forces are in Syria as part of an international coalition created in 2014 to fight the terrorists of the Daesh group. After a rebel alliance led by radical Islamist group Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham toppled President Bashar Assad and took power in Damascus on December 8, Hurras Al-Din said it no longer needed to exist. The group, including foreign jihadists, was based in mountainous northwestern Syria.
Yahoo
01-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Bladed Hellfire Missile Seen In Action For The First Time
U.S. Central Command has posted the first video ever showing the secretive AGM-114R9X variant of the Hellfire missile in action. R9X is an exotic weapon that features an array of pop-out sword-like blades rather than a traditional high-explosive warhead. It is used as an extremely low collateral damage weapon that can target not just a vehicle, but a specific occupant inside by slashing through the car at just the right spot. TWZ was the first to identify this new weapon's unique effects back in 2017. It has since become something of a gruesome fascination in the public domain, getting nicknames like the 'Flying Ginsu' and 'Ninja Bomb' due to its very unique capabilities. The caption of the CENTCOM video reads: CENTCOM Forces Kill the Senior Military Leader of Al-Qaeda Affiliate Hurras al-Din (HaD) in Syria On Feb. 23, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) forces conducted a precision airstrike in Northwest Syria, targeting and killing Muhammed Yusuf Ziya Talay, the senior military leader of the terrorist organization Hurras al-Din (HaD), an Al-Qaeda affiliate. The airstrike is part of CENTCOM's ongoing commitment, along with partners in the region, to disrupt and degrade efforts by terrorists to plan, organize, and conduct attacks against civilians and military personnel from the U.S., our allies, and our partners throughout the region and beyond. 'As we have said in the past, we will continue to relentlessly pursue these terrorists in order to defend our homeland, and U.S., allied, and partner personnel in the region,' said Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla, commander, U.S. Central Command. CENTCOM Forces Kill the Senior Military Leader of Al-Qaeda Affiliate Hurras al-Din (HaD) in SyriaOn Feb. 23, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) forces conducted a precision airstrike in Northwest Syria, targeting and killing Muhammed Yusuf Ziya Talay, the senior military leader of… — U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) March 1, 2025 In the video, we see infrared camera footage of the truck moving along the road when the weapon impacts it causing a cruciform glow. No large explosion or fire is seen, just what appear to be sparks from the damaged vehicle slowing down. Then we get airborne color TV camera footage of the vehicle with the R9X's trademark punched-through hole in its roof over the driver's position. The vehicle and background align with a targeted killing that was previously reported to have occurred on February 23rd that, at the time, had all the trademarks of an R9X hit, with the usual fragments of the weapon also seen in photos from the aftermath. #Syria: fragments of the missiles used today by US to kill a former Horas Al-Din member near Killi (N. #Idlib).Those Hellfire missiles (R9X) use blades instead of explosives. Impact point in the vehicle also pictured. — Qalaat Al Mudiq (@QalaatAlMudiq) February 23, 2025 The AGM-114R9X was developed in secret and has been used increasingly over the last eight years, including in very high-profile operations, without official acknowledgement of its existence. It is thought to be a weapon of choice for targeted assassinations using MQ-9 Reaper drones operated by the shadowy Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC). The missile also likely features a unique guidance capability that leverages automation in order to strike so precisely on just one part of a vehicle. The targeting FLIR footage seen in the CENTCOM video does show a locked vehicle (the bracket) and a set of crosshairs right over where the R9X was targeted, which could point to how this targeting process is executed, although it is not definitive at this time. The fact that the Pentagon released a video showing this weapon in action could indicate that we may finally find out official details about the R9X and its origins. Contact the author: Tyler@
Yahoo
01-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
US officials say senior al-Qaeda affiliate leader killed in Syrian strike
A U.S. airstrike killed a senior al-Qaeda-affiliated leader in Northwest Syria last month, according to U.S. officials. The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Saturday that its forces targeted and killed Muhammed Yusuf Ziya Talay, a senior military leader of the Hurras al-Din (HaD), an Al-Qaeda affiliate that is designated as a terrorist organization by the State Department. The precision airstrike was carried out on Feb. 23, according to CENTCOM. 'As we have said in the past, we will continue to pursue relentlessly these terrorists in order to defend our homeland, and U.S., allied, and partner personnel in the region,' CENTCOM Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla said in a statement. The 12-second video, shared by CENTCOM, shows the airtrike connecting on the left side of the vehicle the U.S. officials believe was driven by Talay. The Feb. 23 strike came just two days after another strike in Northwest Syria killed Wasim Tahsin Bayraqdar, a senior leadership facilitator of HaD, CENTCOM said. HaD was formed in 2018 after Al-Qaeda and Nusrah Front, a designated terrorist group, broke apart, according to the National Counterterrorism Center (NCC). HaD, which still has access to Al-Qaeda members, primarily operates in the Indlib Province of Northwest Syria. NCC estimates the group has as many as 2,500 members. The latest strike marked the third HaD senior military official being killed in Syria in the last month, NBC News reported on Wednesday. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Voice of America
01-03-2025
- Politics
- Voice of America
US says it killed military leader of Syrian Al-Qaida affiliate
The U.S. Army said Saturday it had killed a top military leader of Hurras al-Din, a Syrian branch of Al-Qaida that announced its dissolution in January. The U.S. Central Command, or CENTCOM, which oversees American forces in the Middle East, said in a statement that its forces on Feb. 23 "conducted a precision airstrike in Northwest Syria, targeting and killing Muhammed Yusuf Ziya Talay, the senior military leader of the terrorist organization Hurras al-Din." "As we have said in the past, we will continue to relentlessly pursue these terrorists in order to defend our homeland, and U.S., allied, and partner personnel in the region," said General Michael Erik Kurilla, CENTCOM commander. Since Hurras al-Din announced in late January that it was dissolving itself, U.S. airstrikes have killed several of the group's leaders, according to CENTCOM. On Feb. 22, it said a "precision airstrike" had killed Wasim Tahsin Bayraqdar, a leader of the group, which the U.S. classifies as a terrorist organization. American forces are in Syria as part of an international coalition created in 2014 to fight the jihadis of the Islamic State group. After a rebel alliance led by radical Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham toppled President Bashar al-Assad and took power in Damascus on Dec. 8, Hurras al-Din said it no longer needed to exist. The group, including foreign jihadis, was based in mountainous northwestern Syria. Some information in this report is from Reuters.
