An American drone strike in Syria on Christmas Eve allegedly killed ten ISIS militants connected to the deadly terrorist attacks in Paris. Among the targets killed was Charaffe al Mouadan, who was directly linked to the mastermind of the Nov. 13 attacks.

Mouadan was a French citizen who fled to Syria in 2013 after he was charged with terrorism. Investigators linked him to Paris when one of the gunman who attacked the Bataclan was overheard mentioning his name during the attack.

U.S. Army Col. Steve Warren, a spokesman for Operation Inherent Resolve, said Mouadan was specifically targeted for planning attacks against the United States and its western allies.

The other militants killed in the airstrike were minor ISIS leaders, including a skilled computer hacker from the United Kingdom.

“We’re striking at the head of this snake,” Warren said. “We haven’t severed the head of the snake yet, and it’s still got fangs. We have to be clear about that. There’s much more fighting to do.”

Warren continued his snake metaphor to describe a strategy for flushing out ISIS from Ramadi and Fallujah. “[Iraqi forces] encircle the city almost like a boa constrictor,” he said.