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

A US drones strike has killed an IS group leader in Syria, officials claim. It came after the three MQ-9 Reapers were harassed for two hours by Russian military jets over the western part of the country, Washington says. GettyWashington claims a US drones strike killed an IS group leader in Syria[/caption] The encounters happened when they were searching for the militant on Friday. Shortly after, the drones struck and killed Usamah al-Muhajir, who was riding a motorcycle in the Aleppo region, said a US defence official. It was not immediately clear how the US military confirmed the person killed was al-Muhajir. US Central Command said in a statement yesterday there were no indications any civilians were killed in the strike. Friday was the third day in a row that US officials complained Russian fighter jets in the region had made unsafe and harassing flights around drones. A spokesman said the planes “flew 18 unprofessional close passes that caused the MQ-9s to react to avoid unsafe situations”.