Exactly how many commanders were taken out and their identities are still open to question -- but from all reports I've seen, the U.S.-led attack was a body blow to AQ and its allies in Idlib. From the reports, it seems a number of commanders were in a confab when the missiles struck. This is certainly great news for the Syrian Army. Note the last paragraph in the following report.
U.S.-LED COALITION STRIKES AL-QAEDA HEADQUARTERS IN IDLIB, KILLS DOZENS OF TERRORISTS
August 31, 2019
SouthFront
On August 31, the US-led coalition struck headquarters of al-Qaeda-affiliated Ansar al-Tawhid northwest of Idlib’s city center in northern Syria.
Local sources said that the headquarters, located in the vicinity of the town of Kafarya, was leveled to the ground by several precision-guided missiles.
“U.S. Forces conducted a strike against al-Qaida in Syria leadership at a facility north of Idlib, Syria … This operation targeted al-Qaida leaders responsible for attacks threatening U.S. citizens, our partners, and innocent civilians,” the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said in an official statement.
According to the [U.K.] Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), at least 40 terrorists, including commanders, of Ansar al-Tawhid and other al-Qaeda-affiliated groups from the so-called Wa Harid al-Muminin operations room were killed in the U.S. strikes.
Last June, a strike by the U.S.-led coalition in western Aleppo killed two senior commanders and several terrorists of al-Qaeda-affiliated Horas al-Din.
Ansar al-Tawhid and its allies in Wa Harid al-Muminin played a key role in the recent battles against the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) in southern Idlib and northern Hama. These factions are all close allies of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).
[END REPORT]
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