Iraq says 45 ISIS militants killed in Syria strike

Iraq claims to have killed at least 45 members of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) group including senior members, in an air strike in eastern Syria, the second such operation in less than a month.

A military statement said on Saturday that F-16 fighter jets had successfully targeted a meeting of the ISIL leaders in the Hajin region in Syria's eastern province of Deir Az Zor province near the Iraqi border.

Among those killed, were a messenger for ISIL leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, a local commander and a media official, the statement added, without giving a specific date for the attack.

Three houses linked by an underground tunnel were also destroyed, the statement said, adding that the air raid was carried out based on "intelligence" and at the request of Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi.

Hajin, located about 50km from Iraq's border, is the largest populated hub still under ISIL control in Syria.

Earlier on Saturday, an Iraqi military commander said Iraqi forces had launched two operations to hunt down fighters in western Iraq's desert area near the border with Syria.

Iraq's air force has carried out several strikes on ISIL-held territory in Syria since April.

However, ISIL operatives have continued carrying out attacks and kidnappings targeting security forces and civilians in different parts of the country.

In December the Iraqi government declared victory over Daesh but the military has continued regular operations targeting mostly desert areas along the porous Syrian border.