Top Islamic State leader killed in US 'MQ-9 Reaper drones' strike, claim officials

A US drone strike killed an Islamic State group leader in Syria hours after the same MQ-9 Reaper drones were harassed by Russian military jets over the western part of the country, according to the Defence Department.

Three Reapers had been flying overhead searching for the militant on Friday, a US defence official said, when they were harassed for about two hours by Russian aircraft. Shortly after that, the drones struck and killed Usamah al-Muhajir, who was riding a motorcycle in the Aleppo region, said the official, who was not authorised to publicly discuss the matter and spoke on condition of anonymity to describe details of the military operation.

The official said al-Muhajir was in northwest Syria at the time of the strike, but that he usually operated in the east.

It was not immediately clear how the US military confirmed that the person killed was al-Muhajir; no other details were provided.

In a statement Sunday, US Central Command said there are no indications any civilians were killed in the strike. The military was assessing reports a civilian may have been injured.

Friday was the third day in a row that US officials complained that Russian fighter jets in the region had conducted unsafe and harassing flights around American drones.

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