forces have killed a senior terrorist linked to Al-Qaeda in northwest .

US Central Command (CENTCOM) said Muhammad Salah al-Za'bir was killed in a precision airstrike on Thursday.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said a car, believed to have been driven by al-Za'bir, was struck by a drone as it travelled on a road near the town of Batabu.

An image from the scene shows a crumpled car being checked by a member of the humanitarian organisation, the Syrian White Helmets.

CENTCOM said al-Za'bir was a senior operative in the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Hurras al-Din.

According to reports, the group had just announced its dissolution.

CENTCOM commander General Michael Erik Kurilla said: "CENTCOM will continue to hunt and kill or capture terrorists, and defend our homeland, against groups that plot to attack US and allied personnel."

The strike was part of an ongoing mission alongside partners in the region.

The US has around 900 troops in Syria as part of an international coalition against so-called Islamic State.

The collapse of Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria has .

Photographs taken in Syria in recent weeks, obtained by the Daily Express, .

The photos were all taken in northern Syria during and after the fall of President Assad's regime.