Iraq bombs meeting of ISIS leaders in Syria, killing 45

Iraq has launched an air attackon a gathering of ISIS leaders inside neighbouringSyria, killing 45 members of the hard-line militant group, itsmilitary said on Saturday.

F-16 fighter jets destroyed three houses on Friday whichwere connected by a trench in the town of Hajin, where the leaders were meeting.

Those killed included high profile targets such as thegroup's "deputy war minister,"one of its "media emirs,"its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi's personal courier and its chief ofpolice, the military said in a statement.

ISIS, which once occupied a third of Iraq'sterritory, has been largely defeated in the country but still poses a threat along the border with Syria.

"Iraqi F-16 jets carried out a successful airstrike thattargeted a meeting of Daesh leaders... in the Hajin area within Syrian territory. The operation resulted in the completedestruction of the targets, and the killing of around 45 terrorists," the military's Joint Operations Command said.

Daesh is an Arabic acronym for ISIS.

The Iraqi military has carried out several airstrikesagainst the group in Syria since last year, with the approval of the Syrian government of President Bashar al-Assadand the U.S.-led coalition fighting the militants.

Iranian officer killed

Separately, Iran's Revolutionary Guards said one of itssenior officers was killed in the Syrian town of Albu Ahmed near the Iraqi border.

Second Brig.-Gen. Shahrokh Daeipoura veteran of theIran-Iraq war in the 1980swas killed during "advisory operations,"the Guards' website Sepahnews said, without givingfurther details.

Iran denies having any conventional armed forces in Syria,but has acknowledged military advisers and volunteers from theRevolutionary Guards are there to help Assad's forces.

Iraq has good relations with Iran and Russia, Assad's mainbackers in the Syrian war, and also enjoys strong support fromthe U.S.-led coalition.

Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared final victory overISIS in December but it still operates from pockets along the border with Syria and has continued to carry outambushes, assassinations and bombings across Iraq.

The group has resorted to guerrilla tactics since itabandoned its goal of holding territory and creating a self-sufficient caliphate that straddles Iraq and Syria.