Islamic State official Rakhim Boev killed in Syria airstrikes, says US

The US military announced Thursday that a recent airstrike had killed an Islamic State group official in northwest Syria.

In a post to social media, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said its forces "conducted a precision airstrike in northwest Syria killing Rakhim Boev, a Syria-based ISIS official," using another name for IS.

The post on X said Boev was "involved in planning external operations threatening U.S. citizens, our partners, and civilians."

The accompanying image depicts an SUV vehicle with a bashed-in windshield and roof.

AFP previously reported that two people were killed in separate drone strikes Tuesday, on a car and a motorcycle, in the northwestern bastion of the Islamist former rebels who now head the Syrian government.

A call to CENTCOM seeking confirmation that the incidents are related was not immediately returned.

The twin drone strikes in the Idlib region mirror the US-led coalition's past strikes on jihadists in the area.

During a meeting in Riyadh last month, US President Donald Trump called on his Syrian counterpart Ahmed al-Sharaa to help Washington prevent a resurgence by IS.