Daesh leader in Syria killed in U.S. strike, U.S. officials say

The leader of Daesh in Syria has been killed in a U.S. military air strike, two U.S. officials told Reuters on Tuesday.

Maher al-Agal was killed while riding a motorcycle near Jindayris in Syria, and one of his top aides was seriously injured, Pentagon Central Command spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Dave Eastburn told AFP.

The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, declined to provide details. The killing would be another blow to the extremist militant group's efforts to reorganize as a guerrilla force after losing large swaths of territory.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirmed that Agal was killed in a drone strike.

The Syrian Civil Defense Force said one person was killed and another injured in a strike that targeted a motorcycle outside Aleppo, but did not identify the victims.

There was little information available about Agal, whom the Observatory called the Daesh governor for the Levant.

The strike came five months after a nighttime US raid in the town of Atme in northern Syria led to the death of the overall Daesh leader, Abu Ibrahim al-Qurashi.

US officials said Qurashi died when he detonated a bomb to avoid capture.