US strike kills ISIS group leader in Syria

  A US strike has killed an Islamic State group leader in Syria.

The US strike took place on Thursday in Deir Ezzor province in eastern Syria, killing IS leader 'Abu Yusif' and another operative, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said on social media, without providing further details on the two jihadists.

'This airstrike is part of CENTCOM's ongoing commitment, along with partners in the region, to disrupt and degrade efforts by terrorists to plan, organize, and conduct attacks,' CENTCOM said. 

The strike 'was conducted in an area formerly controlled by the Syrian regime and Russians,' it added.

Washington has stepped up military action against the jihadist group since the fall of Bashar al-Assad's government, hitting areas that were shielded by Syrian and Russian air defences before a lightning offensive by rebels who now control the country. 

The US has for years carried out periodic strikes and raids to help prevent a resurgence of IS, but has launched dozens of strikes since Assad's fall.

On December 8 - the day rebels took the capital Damascus - Washington announced strikes on more than 75 IS targets that CENTCOM said were aimed at ensuring it 'does not seek to take advantage of the current situation to reconstitute in central Syria.'

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