( CNN ) -- A U.S. airstrike in Syria appears to have killed a key French jihadist who is part of the militant Khorasan Group , a U.S. defense official said Thursday morning . The strike happened overnight Wednesday near Idlib , according to the official , who has access to the latest information about the strikes . The U.S. military fired at a vehicle it believed carried David Drugeon , a skilled bomb-maker in his 20s who also has ties to core al Qaeda members in Pakistan , said the official , who spoke on condition of anonymity . The Khorasan Group is made up of senior al Qaeda leaders who have moved into Syria . Later Thursday morning , the U.S. military 's Central Command announced that five U.S. airstrikes targeted the Khorasan Group in Syria on Wednesday night . Drugeon was not mentioned in the announcement . But the command said that it has `` initial indications that ( the strikes ) resulted in the intended effects . '' The airstrikes hit terrorists and destroyed or severely damaged several Khorasan Group vehicles and buildings , the command said in a news release . The military said it believes the buildings were used for meetings , bomb-making and training . The strikes happened in the area of Sarmada , Syria , the military said . Sarmada is about 18 miles ( 30 kilometers ) northeast of Idlib . The United States targeted the Khorasan Group with a series of strikes in Syria in September . Those attacks came amid intelligence that suggested the group was plotting against a target in the U.S. homeland as well as other Western targets , a senior U.S. official told CNN at the time . Converted bomb-maker 's beginnings . Dangerous operative . Intelligence indicated that Khorasan was in the final stages of planning terrorist attacks in the West , including against American aviation . Sources said that among the devices Khorasan 's bomb-makers were developing to try to beat airport security were bombs made out of clothing dipped in explosive solution and explosives concealed in personal electronics . U.S. officials told CNN 's Barbara Starr and Pamela Brown in October that Drugeon may have been actively involved in these efforts , which also involved technology transfers from al Qaeda 's master bomb-maker in Yemen , Ibrahim al Asiri . In July , the Transportation Security Administration banned cell phones without electronic charge from airplane cabins in response to the intelligence , much of it fragmentary , that was coming in on the plans . Drugeon 's knowledge of explosives , European background and access to Western fighters in Syria makes him arguably one of the most dangerous operatives in the entire global al Qaeda network . Path to radicalization . Drugeon was born in 1989 in a blue-collar and immigrant neighborhood dotted with social housing on the outskirts of Vannes on the Atlantic coast of Brittany , according to Eric Pelletier , a reporter with L'Express who has extensively reported on Drugeon and shared his findings with CNN . By all accounts , Drugeon had a very normal childhood . His father was a bus driver and his mother a secretary and committed Catholic . He had an elder brother who shared his passion for the French soccer team Olympic Marseilles and he got good grades at school . But like a significant number of others who later took the path to radicalization , his parents ' divorce when he was 13 was traumatic . Drugeon began acting out , and his grades at school nosedived . He began hanging out with a group of young Muslims in the neighborhood who espoused a fundamentalist interpretation of Islam . Before he turned 14 he converted , changing his name to Daoud . `` Drugeon was radicalized over a period of several years . A local imam played a key role . He was part of group of about a half-dozen Salafi Muslims in the town , '' Pelletier told CNN . By 2010 , Drugeon was on the radar screen of French security services and had made several trips to Egypt to learn Arabic and more about Islam . He funded the trips by taking driving jobs . In April that year , he slipped away from France for good , traveling via Cairo for the tribal areas of Pakistan , to join the jihad against U.S. forces in Afghanistan . Journey to Syria . According to Pelletier , French intelligence established that Drugeon joined a small al Qaeda subgroup known as Jund-al-Khilafah , based in the Miran Shah area . Drugeon first learned how to make bombs in the tribal areas of Pakistan , and over time became skilled in making explosives . He took on a new fighting name `` Souleiman '' and made several forays into Afghanistan , according to Pelletier . Drugeon is believed to have left Pakistan sometime in 2013 or very early 2014 , and to have traveled to Syria to join up with the Khorasan group . A significant number of al Qaeda operatives were making the same journey , convinced that Syria now offered a better sanctuary away from the sight lines of U.S. drones . U.S. officials told CNN they believe Drugeon has been heavily involved in facilitating the movement of fighters to and from Europe , and in planning attacks in Europe .
US military says the attack against Khorasan Group apparently had ` ` intended effects '' Official : A US soldier in Syria appears to have killed French bomb - maker David Drugeon . Drugeon is part of the militant Khorasan Group ; also has ties to Al Qaeda in Syria . Drugeon converted to Islam as a teenager ; traveled to Pakistan , then Syria .