Militant leader injured in Syria, Russia contends
MOSCOW — Russia said Wednesday that it carried out airstrikes in Syria this week that critically wounded the leader of an al-Qaida-linked group and killed 12 other militant commanders — a report that the militants denied.
Syrian activists who monitor the conflict did not immediately comment on the fate of Abu Mohammed al-Golani, leader of the al-Qaida-linked Levant Liberation Committee.
Russia has been waging an air campaign in support of Syrian President Bashar Assad’s forces since 2015, helping them to advance against the Islamic State militant group, al-Qaidalinked insurgents and mainstream rebels.
Al-Golani’s Levant Liberation Committee controls the northwestern Idlib province. Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov, the Russian Defense Ministry spokesman, announced the wounding of the militant leader.
As with other top insurgent leaders, reports of al-Golani’s death have circulated but been deemed false before.
Konashenkov said Russia carried out the airstrikes at an undisclosed location in Syria on Tuesday after receiving intelligence about an upcoming high-level meeting of the group’s leaders. He said 50 other militants who were securing the gathering also were killed.
Rami Abdurrahman, the head of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said Wednesday that he had no information about al-Golani. But the Observatory did report that a former air base now controlled by the Levant Liberation Committee in Idlib was struck by 23 airstrikes Tuesday. The Observatory said no ambulances were allowed into the area after the attacks.
The al-Qaida-linked group denied the Russian report in a statement issued later Wednesday. It said al-Gola- ni is in excellent health and is carrying on with his usual tasks. The statement was published on the group’s Telegram channel.
Moscow blamed the al-Qaida-linked group for an attack on Russian military police near Idlib last month. Three Russian soldiers were wounded after the militants encircled 29 Russian military police officers for several hours during an insurgent offensive. The Russian soldiers repelled the attack with the help of local tribes.
Idlib has come under intense aerial attack since then.
Syrian troops meanwhile are closing in on the eastern city of Mayadeen, one of the last major Islamic State strongholds in the country.
The Observatory said Syrian soldiers and allied militiamen have advanced to about 6 miles north of Mayadeen. The activist-operated Deir Ezzor24 news outlet said dozens of rockets and barrel bombs fell on Mayadeen and surrounding villages Wednesday.
The Observatory said at least 20 people were killed in airstrikes on a village north of Mayadeen, while Deir Ezzor24 said at least 15 were killed. Tens of thousands of civilians have fled Mayadeen and the surrounding areas in the past week.
The Observatory said the government advance has been preceded by a barrage of airstrikes, counting more than 1,000 since Friday.
Mayadeen has become the main hub for Islamic State militants, including the group’s leaders, as its former strongholds in Raqqa, Deir el-Zour and Mosul have come under attack.
U.S.-backed Syrian forces and the Russia-backed Syrian military are in a race for control of territory in eastern Syria as they both battle the extremist group.