US drone strike kills Islamic State group leader in Syria, Defense Department says

By LOLITA C. BALDOR
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Defense Department says a U.S. drone strike has killed an Islamic State group leader in Syria. The military says the strike on Friday came hours after the same MQ-9 Reaper drones were harassed by Russian military jets over the western part of Syria. A U.S. defense official says three Reapers had been flying overhead searching for the militant when they were harassed for about two hours by Russian aircraft. The official says that shortly after that, the drones struck and killed the militant, who was identified as Usamah al-Muhajir, as he was riding a motorcycle in the Aleppo region. It’s not immediately clear how the U.S. military confirmed that the person killed was al-Muhajir.