ISIS chief killed in US drone strike in Syria, officials claim

A US drone strike has killed an IS leader in Syria, officials say.

This comes after the three MQ-9 Reapers were harassed for two hours by Russian military jets over the west of the country, Washington says.

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The encounters happened while they were searching for the militant on Friday.

Shortly after, the drones struck and killed Usamah al-Muhajir, who was traveling on a motorcycle in the Aleppo region, a US defense official said.

It was not immediately clear how the US military confirmed that the person killed was al-Muhajir.

The US Central Command said in a statement yesterday there was no evidence that any civilians were killed in the attack.

Friday marked the third straight day that US officials complained that Russian warplanes had been conducting unsafe and harassing flights near drones in the region.

A spokesman said the planes had “flown 18 unprofessional close-in flights that caused the MQ-9s to react to avoid unsafe situations.”