Before dawn on Friday, September 19, 2025, U.S. forces working with allied partners tracked and killed Omar Abdul-Qader—better known by his nom de guerre , Abdul-Rahman al-Halabi—in central Syria. American officials said he posed a direct threat to the U.S. homeland; Iraqi counter-terrorism officials went further, naming him the Islamic State’s head of foreign/external operations. Think of that job as the group’s long arm: the planner who tries to reach into airports, embassies, and soft targets far from the desert.

The raid struck in Hama province, a zone where ISIS facilitators still shuttle money and men despite the collapse of the caliphate. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirmed the operation and the target’s death.

U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) offered t

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