Syrian forces kill a senior IS leader in a joint operation with the US-led coalition, following the arrest of another commander near Damascus.
DAMASCUS: Syrian authorities said they killed a senior Islamic State group leader in a joint operation with the US-led coalition on Thursday.
The interior ministry said security forces conducted a “precise security operation” that “resulted in neutralising the terrorist Mohammad Shahada, known as ‘Abu Omar Shaddad'”.
It described Shahada as “one of the prominent IS leaders in Syria” and said the mission confirmed the effectiveness of coordination with international partners.
The announcement came hours after authorities reported the arrest of another IS commander, Taha al-Zoubi, near Damascus on Wednesday.
Al-Zoubi, also known as Abu Omar Tabiya, was captured along with several of his men.
The operations follow a period of heightened tensions after a December 13 attack in Palmyra killed two US soldiers and an American civilian.
Washington blamed the attack on a lone IS gunman and retaliated with strikes on IS targets in Syria.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported those US strikes killed five jihadist group members.
Syria officially joined the US-led coalition against IS in November during a visit by interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa to Washington.
Sharaa is an Islamist ruler and former jihadist whose group fought IS during Syria’s civil war.
