Beirut, Aug 7: At least 28 Islamic State group jihadists were killed today in coordinated strikes by the US-led coalition and allied fighters in eastern Syria, a monitoring group said.

"At least 28 IS jihadists were killed in air and artillery strikes" in Deir Ezzor province, said Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. He said the coalition and the Syrian Democratic Forces, an alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters, had carried out the attacks in the Bir al-Meleh region of the province, which borders Iraq.

He said IS-held territory in eastern Syria had been reduced to a "small pocket" since the SDF in early May launched the final phase of an offensive to expel the jihadists from eastern Syria.

IS, which once controlled swathes of Syria and Iraq, has been pounded by multiple offensives and today controls less than three per cent of Syria's territory.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)