Russian airstrikes critically wound ex-Syrian Qaeda leader — report

Russia’s military says it has carried out airstrikes in Syria that critically wounded the leader of a jihadist group with suspected al-Qaeda links and killed 12 other militant commanders.

Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov, spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry, said in a statement on Wednesday that the airstrikes wounded Abu Mohammed al-Golani, leader of the Levant Liberation Committee, which is more commonly known as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and abbreviated HTS.

“As a result of the strike, the leader of Jabhat al-Nusra Abu Mohammed al-Golani received multiple serious shrapnel wounds, lost an arm and is in a critical condition, according to several independent sources,” Konashenkov said in a statement.

He said the strikes took place on Tuesday at an undisclosed location in Syria and were carried out to avenge an attack on Russian military police in Syria on September 18.

Konashenkov added that 50 other militants who were securing the gathering were also killed.

There was no immediate comment from the militant group.

The Jabhat al-Nusra, or al-Nusra Front, shed its status as Al-Qaeda’s Syrian affiliate in 2016 and became Fateh al-Sham Front.

Since 2017, Fateh al-Sham dominates a coalition of jihadist factions under the name Hayat Tahrir al-Sham.

The alliance controls most of the northwestern province of Idlib after expelling Islamist former allies earlier this year.

Washington and the UN did not recognize the break from Al-Qaeda and retained the jihadists on their terror blacklists.