BEIRUT: A US drone strike has killed an Islamic State group leader in Syria after Russian warplanes harassed MQ-9 drones over the war-torn country, the US Central Command said on Sunday.
The strike on Friday resulted in the death of Osama al-Muhajer, IS leader in eastern Syria, Centcom said in a statement.
“We have made it clear that we remain committed to the defeat of ISIS throughout the region,” Centcom chief General Michael Kurilla was quoted as saying, using another acronym for the IS jihadist group.
According to Centcom, no civilians were killed in the operation but coalition forces are “assessing reports of a civilian injury”.
Friday´s strike, Centcom said, “was conducted by the same MQ-9s (drones) that had… been harassed by Russian aircraft in an encounter that had lasted almost two hours”.
US drones taking part in operations against IS in Syria were harassed on Thursday, for the second time in 24 hours, by Russian military aircraft, a US commander said at the time.
