U.S.-led coalition airstrikes have killed three senior Islamic State military officials in Syria and Iraq during the past month, the U.S. military said Friday.
Mustafa Gunes, an external operations facilitator from Turkey, was killed by a coalition airstrike near Mayadin, Syria, on April 27. Gunes was linked to facilitating financial support for attacks against Western countries, according to a statement from U.S. Central Command, which oversees American military operations in the Middle East.
French-Algerian Abu Asim al-Jazaeri was killed by a coalition airstrike near Mayadin on May 11. U.S. military officials say al-Jazaeri was involved in training an Islamic State youth group called the Cubs of the Caliphate.
And senior Islamic State official Abu-Khattab al-Rawi was killed along with three other IS fighters during an operation near Al-Qaim, Iraq, on May 18. The Central Command statement called al-Rawi an Anbar province operator who "provided direct support to ISIS leadership" and coordinated aerial drone operations. ISIS is an acronym for Islamic State.
Meanwhile, a U.S. service member has died of injuries sustained Friday when his vehicle rolled over in northern Syria, the U.S. military said.
A statement from U.S. Central Command did not provide further details.
A U.S. official told VOA the death was "non-combat related." It is unclear what caused the vehicle to roll over.
U.S. forces have been helping Syrian local fighters push back Islamic State militants across Iraq and Syria.
Local Syrian fighters are currently in the process of surrounding Islamic State's de-facto capital of Raqqa, Syria.
Iraqi forces have pushed the terror group out of about 90 percent of Mosul, Iraq, the most populated city held by the group.
