The Syrian air force has killed an Islamic State commander in an air strike in central Syria, Syrian state media and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Saturday.

The Islamic State commander, identified as one of its self-declared provincial governors, was killed in an air strike near the town of Hamadi Omar, some 50 km (30 miles) southwest of the city of Hama. The Observatory said a total of 26 Islamic State militants were killed in the attack.

Syrian state media said the air strike had also destroyed a convoy of military vehicles. Rami Abdulrahman, who runs the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said it was not clear if the Islamic State commander, named as Abi Ammar al-Jazrawi, had been killed in air force raids on Friday or Saturday.

A US-led alliance that is bombing Islamic State in both Syria and Iraq has rejected the idea of partnering with President Bashar al-Assad in the fight against the ultra-hardline group, describing him as part of the problem.