US air strike in Syria kills more than 100 al Qaeda members: Defense official

Washington: A US air strike on Thursday targeting an al Qaeda training camp in Syria killed more than 100 militants, a US defense official said on Friday.

The strike took place just a day before the end of President Barack Obama`s presidency and a day after more than 80 Islamic State militants were killed in US air strikes in Libya.

The official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the air strike was primarily carried out by a B-52 bomber and dropped 14 munitions.

The official added that the strike against the camp took place in Idlib province, west of Aleppo, and there was a high level of confidence that there were no civilian casualties.

A US-led coalition has been carrying out air strikes and supporting local forces in Syria to oust Islamic State militants. However, there is concern that the defeat of Islamic State could open the door for al Qaeda to take territory in ungoverned parts of the country.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported on Friday that an air strike killed more than 40 members of the jihadist group Jabhat Fateh al-Sham in northwestern Syria. It was not immediately clear if this strike was the same one the defense official was referring to.