BEIRUT — Syrian state-run news agency SANA says the army has killed the military commander of the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front.

The agency says Abu Hommam al-Shami was killed during a military operation carried out by the Syrian army that targeted a Nusra meeting in the village of Habeet, in the northern Idlib province.

It did not elaborate, but the report suggested he was killed in an airstrike.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirmed that a Nusra Front leadership meeting was targeted in Idlib, killing a number of prominent leaders, including Abu Hommam.

It said it was not clear whether the meeting was targeted by a U.S.-led coalition airstrike or a Syrian army strike.