A senior ISIL commander was targeted and likely killed in a U.S. operation, a U.S. official told Reuters on Friday, speaking on condition of anonymity.

News of the operation comes just ahead of a Pentagon briefing scheduled for 10:45 a.m.. Defense Secretary Ash Carter is expected to make the announcement at the briefing, according to U.S. media reports.

Abd ar-Rahman Mustafa al-Qaduli, the militant group's second-in-command, was killed in a raid in Syria on Thursday, Fox News reported.

The commander, who went by several aliases and was a senior religious leader within the militant group, is believed to have been killed in a U.S. air strike, U.S. media outlets said.

Carter is also expected to discuss the death of another top ISIL leader, senior operative Abu Omar al-Shishani, in another recent strike, Fox News said.

A news agency that supports ISIL has denied that al-Shishani, also known as the Chechen, had been killed or wounded.

By Reuters