Airstrike kills top Syrian rebel, opposition says

An airstrike near the Syrian capital kills a rebel who headed a powerful Saudi-backed insurgent group fighting against Syrian President Bashar Assad’s government,

— An airstrike BEIRUT near the Syrian capital on Friday killed top rebel commander Zahran Allouch, the head of one of the most powerful Saudi-backed insurgent groups fighting against President Bashar Assad’s government near the seat of his power Damascus, opposition activists said.

Allouch’s death a month before expected peace talks between government and opposition representatives in Geneva is a blow to insurgents fighting to topple Assad and a boost to government forces already bolstered by the recent Russian military intervention in Syria.

It was not immediately clear who was behind his death.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said an airstrike hit an Army of Islam meeting near the Damascus suburb of Otaya, killing several rebel commanders including Allouch. It said it was not clear whether it was a Russian or Syrian attack, though the Syrian military claimed credit.

The Observatory said the warplanes struck a meeting during which Army of Islam commanders were preparing to launch an offensive against government forces and those of Lebanon’s Hezbollah near Damascus.

It was not immediately clear how Allouch’s killing would affect his group, which is entrenched in the eastern suburbs of Damascus. For the government, it represents a further boost following recent military advances by the army, which has been on the offensive in several parts of the country since Russia began its military campaign in late September to shore up Assad’s forces.

Syria’s state news agency SANA highlighted the news, reporting the killing of the “terrorist” Zahran Allouch.

Allouch, who was in his mid-40s, was widely known to be supported by Saudi Arabia and Turkey. He was one of the most powerful rebel commanders with thousands of fighters. In addition to fighting government forces, the Army of Islam faction fought pitched battles against its rival, the Islamic State.

A former prisoner who was released in a general amnesty after the uprising against Assad began in March 2011, Allouch joined the armed opposition and formed the Army of Islam — which became one of the most organized rebel factions in Syria.

Critics accuse him of sectarian politics and brutal tactics similar to those of the Islamic State group. His group was behind the shelling of Damascus in recent months with mortar shells, including an attack that targeted the Russian Embassy. Such attacks have killed and wounded scores of civilians.

The Army of Islam took part earlier this month in an opposition meeting held in Saudi Arabia to agree on an opposition delegation that would negotiate with government representatives in planned peace talks. The government has always said it will not negotiate with terrorists, among which it considers the Army of Islam.