The U.S. military has killed the leader of an Al Qaeda affiliate who was “directly connected” to the slaying of three Americans in Syria last month.

U.S. Central Command announced that a strike in northwest Syria on Friday killed Bilal Hasan al Jasim, described as an “an experienced terrorist leader” with ties to the ambush and killing of two U.S. soldiers and one civilian interpreter by an ISIS gunman in Palmyra in mid-December.