The US says it has killed Islamic State (IS) leader Abu Yusif in Syria.

US Central Command Forces (Centcom) said it carried out an airstrike targeting Yusif – who also goes by Mahmud – in the east of the country.

Another IS operative was also killed in the strike, according to US officials.

This strike was conducted in an area formerly controlled by the Syrian regime and Russian forces.

Centcom commander, general Michael Erik Kurilla, said: “As stated before, the United States – working with allies and partners in the region – will not allow ISIS to take advantage of the current situation in Syria and reconstitute.

“IS has the intent to break out of detention the over 8,000 ISIS operatives currently being held in facilities in Syria.

“We will aggressively target these leaders and operatives, including those trying to conduct operations external to Syria.”

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.

Please refresh the page for the fullest version.

You can receive breaking news alerts on a smartphone or tablet via the Sky News app. You can also follow us on WhatsApp and subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up with the latest news.

US politicians have rejected a spending bill endorsed by president-elect Donald Trump – leaving Congress with no clear plan to avert a fast-approaching government shutdown.

On Wednesday, Mr Trump dismissed a bipartisan compromise, which Republicans and Democrats had reached to prevent a shutdown just days before the Christmas winter break.

Instead, he urged Republicans in the House of Representatives to back a new deal which included a three-month extension of government funding and a two-year suspension of the debt limit into January 2027. The debt ceiling caps the amount the federal government can borrow.

Hakeem Jeffries, the House minority leader and top Democrat in the chamber, called the revamped Republican proposal “laughable” – and the bill was rejected on Thursday night by a 175-235 vote, with all but two Democrats and 38 Republicans voting against it.

Several Republicans had said they were not interested in getting rid of the debt ceiling if they did not also cut spending.

“It’s like… increasing your credit card limit, while you don’t do anything to actually constrain spending,” said Republican Representative Chip Roy.

The outcome is a massive setback for Mr Trump and his billionaire ally Elon Musk, who has been tasked by the incoming president with pruning the federal budget.

Musk, a tech entrepreneur and the world’s richest person, led the charge earlier in the week against the bipartisan funding deal in dozens of posts on his social media platform X, describing it as “criminal”. His opposition led support for the package to quickly crumble.

Congress now has until midnight on Friday to approve a spending bill that would avert a government shutdown.

“We’re going to regroup and we will come up with another solution, so stay tuned,” House Speaker Mike Johnson said after the vote.

But Mr Trump remained defiant, insisting Congress scrap the debt ceiling, or extend it to 2029.

“Congress must get rid of, or extend out to, perhaps, 2029, the ridiculous debt ceiling. Without this, we should never make a deal,” he said in a post on Truth Social on Friday morning.

He has repeatedly urged Republicans in the House to tie up loose ends before he takes office on 20 January.

It leaves the government in limbo with just hours to thrash out a new bill to put to a vote.

Read more from Sky News:
King’s cancer treatment will continue in 2025
‘Prince of Darkness’ named new US ambassador

What a government shutdown means

If the House fails to approve a spending bill or extend the deadline a government shutdown will begin impacting federal employees and the public services they provide.

Essential government agencies like the FBI, Border Patrol and the Coast Guard would remain open.

But the Transportation Security Administration has warned travellers could face long lines at airports.

National parks and monuments would close, and while troops would stay at their posts, many civilian employees in agencies like the Department of Defence would be sent home.

Sometimes federal workers are furloughed, meaning they keep their jobs but temporarily don’t work until the government reopens.

Other federal staff may stay on the job but without pay, with the expectation they would be paid back in full once the government reopens.

Courts would also be affected, with civil proceedings paused, while criminal prosecutions continue.

Automated tax collection would stay on track, but the Internal Revenue Service would stop auditing tax returns.

The last government shutdown – the longest in history – took place in December 2018 and January 2019 during Mr Trump’s first term in The White House.

Consider one view outside the George Washington University Hospital in Washington DC.

“I think we need to paint a mural to Luigi, what do you think?” said one passer-by, with a smile.

“I don’t endorse murder but I think it’s a good thing if CEOs are a little bit nervous.”

Everyone has a thought for the alleged assassin, Luigi Mangione, and it’s not all negative.

Villain or hero? It’s a question dividing America, and not necessarily down the middle.

A quick trawl through the internet reveals Luigi merchandise, Luigi tattoos, “Free Luigi” posters and a fundraiser for Luigi’s legal defence – which has raised $157,225 (£125,492).

Part of the murder response is all about Luigi – the part that bypasses due sympathy for the family and friends of Brian Thompson, the 50-year-old father-of-two gunned down in the street.

He was charged with first-degree murder – later modified to murder as an act of terrorism – after a manhunt that lasted five days.

If the motive was anger with the US health insurance industry, then it’s a sentiment shared.

Americans have long been ground down by the cost of private insurance to gain access to healthcare and the struggle that many face to secure payments.

Claims denied by insurance companies are typically made by people in their darkest hour of urgent medical need. Stories of emotional and financial trauma are legion.

Not that any of that justifies the murder of a healthcare executive on a New York street. Or does it?

I put that question to Sam Beard, organiser of the December 4th legal committee which is raising funds for Luigi Mangione’s legal defence.

He said this: “As a moral matter, it’s a difficult thing to tease out because the same logic has to apply both ways.

“A CEO had his life, tragically and surprisingly to all of his loved ones, cut short, but he was considered an effective CEO exactly because he profited from denying peoples’ claims which cut their lives short.”

“From a simple moral rule, we can’t just apply it without acknowledging that we’re in an immoral system that degrades the value of some human lives while uplifting the value of others. So when we treat this only as a moral act we are plugging our ears to its larger political meaning.

“I’m not in favour of anybody having their life tragically cut short but what I do see as undeniable is that this privatised healthcare system that does cut the lives short of hundreds of thousands of Americans every few years, may be finally getting its reckoning.”

Read more:
Suspect ‘posted about back condition online for years’
What we know about Luigi Mangione

The adulation attracted by Mangione troubles the authorities in New York, who fear copycat attacks.

Business executives and employees in health insurance have reported being threatened and harassed. “Wanted” posters have also been put up around New York, featuring the CEOs of at least two health insurance companies.

When the indictment against Mangione was unveiled earlier this week, New York City’s Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch emphatically denounced the adulation he has enjoyed.

“This was a senseless act of violence,” she said. “We don’t celebrate murders and we don’t lionise the killing of anyone.”

There’s no doubting the anger felt at the reaction in his favour – but there’s no denying it either.