The US Central Command says it conducted a drone strike on July 7 that killed an ISIS leader in Eastern Syria.
It used the same MQ-9 drones in the attack that had "earlier in the day been harassed by Russian aircraft in an encounter that had lasted almost two hours", it said in a statement.
"US Central Command conducted a strike in Syria that resulted in the death of Usamah al-Muhajir, an ISIS leader in eastern Syria," it said, without giving any more details on al-Muhajir.
"We have made it clear that we remain committed to the defeat of ISIS throughout the region," US Central Command chief General Michael Kurilla was quoted as saying.
"ISIS remains a threat, not only to the region but well beyond," he added.
No civilians were killed in the operation but coalition forces are "assessing reports of a civilian injury", the statement said.
Washington has, in the last year, stepped up raids and operations against suspected ISIS operatives in Syria, killing and arresting various of its leaders who had taken shelter in areas under Turkey-backed rebel control after the group lost its last territory in Syria in 2019.
The US-led campaign which killed former ISIS head Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, who had declared himself the "caliph of all Muslims", has since targeted its surviving leaders, many of whom are thought to have planned attacks abroad.
Islamic State controlled one-third of Iraq and Syria at its peak in 2014.
Though it was beaten back in both countries, its militants continue to wage insurgent attacks.
Story By: Reuters
Original Story link: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-07-10/us-central-command-says-it-killed-isis-leader-in-eastern-syria/102581358
