ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – The US military announced Wednesday that they had killed an alleged senior Islamic State (ISIS) leader in an airstrike in northwest Syria on Friday, as the global coalition continues to target the group’s remnants in the region.

The US forces “conducted an airstrike in northwest Syria, June 19, that resulted in the death of a senior ISIS leader,” identified as Ali Husayn al-‘Ulaywi, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in an X statement.

The strike is “part of ongoing [US] efforts to disrupt and eliminate terrorists seeking to attack Americans abroad or the [US] homeland,” the statement added.

Washington began a retaliatory campaign against ISIS dubbed Operation Hawkeye Strike after a December attack in Syria's Palmyra by the extremist group killed three American nationals.

Syria joined the international coalition to defeat ISIS in November, becoming the body’s 90th partner to join the global fight against the group, with the move being hailed by US officials as a sign of Damascus' determination to assist in counterterrorism efforts.

“CENTCOM and our partners remain committed to rooting out remaining remnants of ISIS,” CENTCOM Commander Brad Cooper said.

Despite being territorially defeated in 2019, ISIS still poses a security threat across Syria, with the extremist group mostly resorting to hit-and-run attacks.

During the January clashes between the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the Syrian government, the Kurdish-led forces withdrew from facilities holding thousands of Islamic State (ISIS) members and their affiliates, including the notorious al-Hol camp, raising concerns of potential escapes as government forces took over.