ISIS 'emir of suicide bombers' killed: US

Senior ISIS leader Tariq al-Harzi -- a man known as the "emir of suicide bombers" -- was killed by a coalition airstrike in Syria last month, a US official said Thursday.

Al-Harzi played a key logistical role for ISIS, overseeing efforts to get jihadists and weapons into Iraq and Syria to fuel the militant organization's war machine, according to US authorities.

The Tunisian, believed to be one of the first foreign fighters to join ISIS, also helped organize the Sunni extremist group's devastating use of suicide and vehicle-borne bombs in Iraq, the US Department of Defense said.

The ISIS leader had been on the US Designated Terrorist List since last year and the State Department had offered a $3 million reward for information on him.

Meanwhile, a new Islamist rebel alliance, including al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate, was locked in a fierce battle yesterday to seize government-held areas of Aleppo, the divided former economic capital.

According to the British-based monitor, the 13 groups in the alliance announced the launch of the "Ansar al-Sharia operations room" on Thursday.

"There were at least 35 dead among insurgent ranks and dozens of killed and wounded on the regime side," the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights told AFP.