US air raids in Syria appear to have killed a French bomb-maker who was a key figure in an al Qaeda offshoot accused of plotting attacks on the West, a Pentagon official said, reports FRANCE 24.
David Drugeon was a Muslim convert suspected of working with al Qaeda veterans in what is known as the Khorasan group, which American officials say is a dangerous militant outfit planning to carry out attacks on Western countries.
US officials have portrayed Drugeon, 24, as an influential figure with ties to al Qaeda members in Pakistan. His death, if confirmed, will be seen as a serious setback for the Khorasan group.
"He was among the targets," a senior US defense official who spoke on condition of anonymity told AFP. "We think we got him."
But it will take time to confirm his death with absolute certainty, particularly as there are no US troops deployed on Syrian soil, the official added.
A military officer also expressed confidence that Drugeon was killed near Syria’s northwestern city of Idlib and said the operation represented a success for Washington's counter-terrorism efforts.
"This is a big win," said the officer, who asked not to be named.
On Thursday, Drugeon’s father Patrice said he had received “no official confirmation of David’s death, neither from the French or the American governments”.
“I still hold a glimmer of hope,” Patrice Drugeon told France 2 television. “But sadly everything leads to believe he was killed by a missile.”