US offers $5M for information on al-Qaeda leaders

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - The U.S. on Thursday announced $5 million rewards for information on three senior leaders of an al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria.

The State Department said in announcing the cash payments under its Rewards for Justice program that it wanted information leading to the identification of three senior Huras al-Din leaders -- Abu Abd al-Karim al-Masri, Faruq al-Suri, and Sami al-Uraydi.

The individuals have been active in al-Qaeda "for years," the department said, and remain loyal to its leader Ayman al-Zawahiri.

Al-Masri is an Egyptian national, and is a former member of Huras al-Din's shura council. Al-Suri, who is also known as Samir Hijazi and Abu Hammam al-Shami, fought in Afghanistan in the 1990s, and later trained al-Qaeda fighters in Iraq, the State Department said.

Al-Uraydi is a Jordanian national whom the department alleged was involved in plots to attack Israel and the U.S.