US Special Forces killed a senior leader of the Islamic State's Syria franchise during a helicopter-borne raid in the country's northwest before dawn on Monday, a US official told to Al-Monitor.

Two other armed individuals were also killed in the operation, though it was not clear whether they belonged to the Islamic State group, the official said.

The identity of the senior IS official was also not immediately clear, but a US official speaking not for attribution described him as a "senior" ISIS-Syria leader and operational planner responsible for planning terror attacks in the Middle East and Europe" and his rank as above that of a mid-level planner.

No individuals were captured and no US forces were injured or killed during the raid, the US official said.

Source: Al Monitor