Dramatic drone footage showed the moment a senior Al-Qaeda leader was taken out in a U.S. airstrike. 

Muhammed Yusuf Ziya Talay, the senior military leader of the terrorist group  Hurras al-Din (HaD) – an Al-Qaeda affiliate – was killed in an airstrike in Northwest Syria on February 23 by U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) forces. 

CENTCOM released the heart-stopping video on Saturday morning that depicted the airstrike hitting the car with the Turkish national inside. 

‘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,’ the agency said in a post on X. 

Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla, CENTCOM commander, said: ‘As we have 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 and beyond.’ 

This is the third US airstrike against Hurras Al-Din in recent weeks, as CENTCOM forces killed Wasim Tahsin Bayraqdar, a senior leader, on February 21. 

Muhammad Salah al-Zabir, another senior operative with the al-Qaeda affiliate, was killed in a January 30 airstrike. 

Muhammed Yusuf Ziya Talay, the senior military leader of the terrorist group Hurras al-Din (HaD), was killed in an airstrike in Northwest Syria on February 23 by U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) forces

CENTCOM released the heart-stopping video on Saturday morning, as an airstrike hit the car the Turkish national was traveling in

CENTCOM released an image of the car Bayraqdar was traveling in at the time, as a gaping hole was left in its windshield.   

He was killed while traveling on a highway near the village of Batabo in northwest Syria. 

Bayraqdar was the brother of Syrian minister Samer Bayraqdar, The New Arab reported. 

President Donald Trump celebrated the airstrike and the soldiers who executed the mission with a post to Truth Social. 

‘US forces conducted a precision airstrike against a member of al-Qaeda in Syria this weekend. The terrorist leader was working with al-Qaeda across the region,’ he wrote.

 CENTCOM forces killed Wasim Tahsin Bayraqdar, a senior leader, on February 21

A gaping hole is seen in the windshield of the car Bayraqdar was traveling in 

‘Congratulations to CENTCOM Commander Gen. Michael Kurilla, and the US warfighters who dealt Justice to another Jihadi threatening America and our allies and partners.’

Hurras al-Din was founded in February 2018, according to US-based intelligence agency SITE. The U.S. designated it a terrorist organization in 2019. 

The group had been fighting with Syrian rebels in an attempt to topple Bashar al-Assad’s regime. 

The group dissolved in January and only then did they confirm that they were affiliated with al-Qaeda.

The US government offers financial rewards for information leading to the capture of its members.

CENTCOM was established in 1983, and ‘covers the central area of the globe located between the European, Africa and Indo-Pacific Commands.’ 

This is a breaking news story. Updates to come.