NEW YORK (Sputnik) — A US airstrike may have killed top leader of the Islamic State (Daesh) Abu Omar al-Shishani, US media reported on Tuesday.
The US military and intelligence community is assessing whether a targeted coalition airstrike killed top Daesh leader, known as Omar "the Chechen," CNN reported quoting several unnamed US officials.
Al-Shishani has been serving as an Daesh commander in Syria. The strike allegedly took place on Friday near the Syrian town of al-Shaddadi, the news outlet added.
The US-led coalition of over 60 nations has been carrying out airstrikes against the ISIL, also known as Daesh, first in Iraq and later Syria since 2014 — albeit without the approval of the Syrian government or the UN Security Council.