Al Qaeda's top Syria strategist killed in US airstrike
The US Defence Department stated that it had killed Sanafi Al Nasr, a key Al Qaeda strategist and target of US sanctions. He was apparently killed in a US air-strike in north-west Syria: he﻿﻿ is the fifth senior member of the so-called Khorasan Group (Al Qaeda inSyria) to have been killed over the past four months.  His key responsibilities covered the transfer of funds from Gulf-based donors to Pakistan and then on into Syria, as well as organising the transport routes for fighters being brought into Syria.

Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook provided the following statement:

On Oct. 15, Coalition forces conducted an airstrike in northwest Syria that killed Abdul Mohsen Adballah Ibrahim al Charekh, aka Sanafi al-Nasr, a Saudi national and the highest ranking leader of the network of veteran al-Qaeda operatives sometimes called the "Khorasan Group." Al-Nasr was a long-time jihadist experienced in funneling money and fighters for al-Qaeda. He moved funds from donors in the Gulf region into Iraq and then to al-Qaeda leaders from Pakistan to Syria. He organized and maintained routes for new recruits to travel from Pakistan to Syria through Turkey in addition to helping al-Qaeda's external operations in the West. Al-Nasr previously worked for al-Qaeda's Iran-based facilitation network. In 2012 he took charge of al-Qaeda's core finances before relocating to Syria in 2013. ‎Al-Nasr is the fifth senior Khorasan Group leader killed in the last four months.

"The United States will not relent in its mission to degrade, disrupt and destroy al-Qaeda and its remnants," said Secretary of Defense Ash Carter. "This operation deals a significant blow to the Khorasan Group's plans to attack the United States and our allies, and once again proves that those who seek to do us harm are not beyond our reach."

The Treasury Department previously named Al-Nasr a Specially Designated Global Terrorist under Executive Order 13224 on Aug. 22, 2014. For operational security reasons we will not go into the specifics of the strikes.