US official: Leader of Khorasan Group dead

Muhsin al Fadhli, a Kuwaiti-born jihadi with a $7 million bounty on his head from the US government, was the leader of the Khorasan Group – a collection of senior al Qaeda members who had moved into Syria amid the chaotic destruction of the country in recent years.

The July 8 strike was the second attempt to kill Fadhli.

Al-Fadhli was involved in attacks in October 2002 against U.S. Marines on Faylaka Island in Kuwait and against the French ship MV Limburg, Davis said.

He was one of a few al-Qaeda leaders who received advanced notice of the September 11 terror attacks, David said, and his death is expected to “degrade and disrupt” al-Qaeda’s plans against the U.S, its allies and partners.

The Pentagon announced Tuesday that the leader of the Khorasan group – an Al Qaeda affiliate in Syria – has been killed. Like Khorasan itself, al-Fadhli has strong connections to the Nusra Front, a branch of Al-Qaeda that operates inside Syria and Lebanon. The SITE monitoring service, a U.S.-based organization that tracks militant groups online, reported later that month that a jihadist had tweeted condolences over his death.