It was not immediately clear how the U.S. military confirmed that the person killed was Usamah al-Muhajir.
Russian military SU-34 and SU-35 aircraft release flares in the flight path of a U.S. Air Force MQ-9 Reaper drone, lower left, on July 6, 2023, over Syria. | U.S. Air Force via AP PhotoWASHINGTON — A U.S. drone strike killed an Islamic State group leader in Syria hours after the same MQ-9 Reaper drones were harassed by Russian military jets over the western part of the country, according to the Defense Department.
It was not immediately clear how the U.S. military confirmed that the person killed was al-Muhajir; no other details were provided. Lt. Gen. Alex Grynkewich, head of U.S. Air Forces Central Command, said in a statement that during the Friday encounter, the Russian planes “flew 18 unprofessional close passes that caused the MQ-9s to react to avoid unsafe situations.”
U.S. officials said the drones were unarmed in the earlier flights, but were carrying weapons on Friday, as they were hunting al-Muhajir.
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