The U.S. military killed senior al-Qaeda leader Abdul Hamid al-Matar in a drone strike in Syria on Friday, a U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) spokesman has announced.

"The removal of this senior al-Qaeda leader will disrupt the terrorist organization's ability to further plot and carry out global attacks threatening U.S. citizens, our partners, and innocent civilians," U.S. Army Major John Rigsbee declared in a written statement.