Airstrike Kills Prominent Rebel Leader in Syria
by VOA News December 25, 2015
Syrian rebel sources and activists say the leader of one of the most powerful insurgent groups in the rebel-held suburbs of Damascus, Zahran Alloush, has been killed in an airstrike.
The opposition and the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Alloush and some other leading members of the Army of Islam were killed in the air raid, which targeted the group's headquarters in Eastern Ghouta.
Unconfirmed initial reports suggested the airstrike was carried out by Russian planes.
Russia, an ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, has killed several rebel group leaders since it began a major aerial campaign in Syria three months ago.
Syrian government warplanes and helicopter gunships also often attack the opposition-held suburbs of Damascus, a stronghold of Aassad.
The Army of Islam, with thousands of trained fighters, is considered one of the biggest and most organized rebel groups in Syria.
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
