US strike kills top ISIS commander in Syria

ISIS was dealt a severe blow this week when it lost a senior commander in a US airstrike.

A senior US defense official confirmed that a top Islamic State (ISIS) military commander was killed by a coalition airstrike in Syria on Monday.

The official says that Abu Jandal al-Kuwaiti was killed near Tabqa Dam. He was a key leader of the group in Raqqa, ISIS’ capital. No other details were available.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said earlier this week that he had been targeted by US-led coalition aircraft.

SOHR reported that al-Kuwaiti was one of the prominent ISIS leaders and has led several battles in Al-Hasakah and Khanaser in Syria, as well as in Iraq, until ISIS military operations moved to the countryside of Al-Raqqah, where coalition forces are focusing their efforts to put pressure on Raqqa.

ISIS supporters on social media indicated on Tuesday that he had been killed. The US confirmation was the first official coalition acknowledgement of his death.

The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces have been battling ISIS fighters near the strategically located dam, aided by a barrage of coalition airstrikes in the region.

By: AP and World Israel News Staff