Pentagon
The Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, is seen in this aerial photograph taken April 23, 2015. Congress on Wednesday said it had found areas to cut in the 2016 defense budget. Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images

ERBIL, Iraq - - A U.S. air strike in Afghanistan has killed a high-ranking al Qaeda operational commander, the Pentagon said on Friday.

The Pentagon named the target of the strike as Abu Khalil al-Sudani, saying he was killed in a July 11 strike in the Bermal district of Afghanistan's Paktika province.

In a statement, the Pentagon said he was head of al Qaeda "suicide and explosives operations" and was linked to external attack plotting against the United States.

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Iraq Afghanistan Terrorism Al-Qaeda