US military says drone strike in Syria kills a Saudi militant from an al-Qaida-linked group

The U.S. military and a war monitor say a drone strike in northwest Syria has killed a Saudi extremist from an al-Qaida-linked group. The strike on Friday was carried out by a U.S.-led coalition that was established years ago to fight the militant Islamic State group. The man targeted was identified as Abu Abdul Rahman Makki, a Saudi citizen who was a former leader of the now-defunct extremist Jund al-Aqsa and a current leader in the group Horas al-Din, or “Guardians of Religion.” The U.S. military has carried out a series of attacks over the past several years targeting al-Qaida-linked militants in northwestern Syria.