The US Army said Thursday it carried out a drone strike against Al-Qaeda leaders in northwest Syria near the border, killing 17 militants, according to a war monitor.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said five civilians were also among those killed.
"US Forces conducted a strike against a group of al-Qaeda in (AQ-S) senior leaders meeting near Idlib, Syria," said Major Beth Riordan, the spokeswoman for United States Central Command (CENTCOM).
"The removal of these AQ-S leaders will disrupt the terrorist organization's ability to further plot and carry out global attacks threatening US citizens, our partners and innocent civilians," Riordan said in a statement.
She did not specify the number of deaths from the strike.
According to OSDH, the strike targeted a dinner meeting of militants in the village of Jakara in the area of Salqin, killing at least 17 extremists including 11 leaders.
The strike hit in Syria's last major opposition bastion of Idlib, which is dominated by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) led a former Al-Qaeda affiliate, but other extremist groups are also present in the area.
Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman said that five non-Syrian extremists were among those killed, but their nationalities were not immediately known.
Among the six Syrian leaders killed, two were from HTS, he said.
Ebaa, the media mouthpiece of HTS, said a strike targeted a "tent belonging to one of the dignitaries" in Jakara, killing several people.