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US raid in Syria kills 'senior Islamic State leader'

A suspected Islamic State senior leader has been killed in a Special Ops raid in Syria, US Secretary of Defence has said.

The mission - sanctioned by Barack Obama - was intended merely to capture Abu Sayyaf, who the US said helped direct "illict oil, gas and financial operations".

However, the suspected militant was killed when he engaged US personnel in combat, the White House said.

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'Yazidi slave' freed in raid on suspected IS militant

US Special Ops forces involved in a deadly raid on a suspected Islamic State and his wife freed a Yazidi woman who "appears to have been held as a slave" by the couple, the US Secretary of Defence says.

Ash Carter said the wife of the man killed - suspected IS militant Abu Sayyef - also "played an important role" in the group's activities.

He added that the wife was now being held in US military detention in Iraq.

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