US special forces kill senior IS leader in Syria: White House

WASHINGTON - US special forces killed a senior Islamic State group leader and captured his wife in a daring raid in eastern Syria, the White House announced on Saturday.

The raid was carried out at the direction of US President Barack Obama, his spokeswoman on national security matters, Bernadette Meehan said in a statement.

"Last night, at the president's direction, US personnel based out of Iraq conducted an operation in al-Amr in eastern Syria to capture an ISIL senior leader known as Abu Sayyaf and his wife Umm Sayyaf," the statement said.

"During the course of the operation, Abu Sayyaf was killed when he engaged US forces." Meehan added: "Umm Sayyaf was captured and is currently in US military detention in Iraq.

"The operation also led to the freeing of a young Yazidi woman who appears to have been held as a slave by the couple. We intend to reunite her with her family as soon as feasible," said Meehan, spokeswoman for the president's National Security Council.