US aircraft on Nov. 18 killed a senior al Qaeda leader in Syria who is responsible for attacks on US troops in Afghanistan and had connections to terrorist groups across Southwest Asia. Abu Afghan al-Masri, who is originally from Egypt and joined the terror group in Afghanistan, was a “legacy leader” with the group, Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said in a Tuesday briefing. The strike is “another blow” to al Qaeda inside Syria, he said.
The Air Force plans to add external weapons pylons on the B-1B bomber, both to increase the number of aircraft that can test hypersonic missiles and expand the Lancer’s loadout as USAF transitions to the B-21 bomber.