WASHINGTON ¨C An airstrike by the U.S.-led coalition has killed Sanafi al-Nasr, a Saudi citizen and the leader of an al-Qaida offshoot called the Khorasan Group, a Pentagon spokesman said Sunday.
The Pentagon said al-Nasr organized routes for new recruits to travel from Pakistan to Syria through Turkey and played a significant role in the group¡¯s finances. He was killed in an airstrike Thursday in northwest Syria, it said.
¡°Al-Nasr was a longtime jihadi experienced in funneling money and fighters for al-Qaida. He moved funds from donors in the Persian Gulf region into Iraq and then to al-Qaida leaders from Pakistan to Syria,¡± the Pentagon spokesman said in a statement.
Al-Nasr worked for al-Qaida¡¯s Iran-based network before taking charge of the militant group¡¯s finances in 2012 and moving to Syria in 2013, the Pentagon said.
He was the fifth senior Khorasan Group leader killed in the last four months, it said.
¡°This operation deals a significant blow to the Khorasan Group¡¯s plans to attack the United States and our allies, and once again proves that those who seek to do us harm are not beyond our reach,¡± U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter said in a statement.
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