Top Syrian rebel killed in airstrike near Damascus
Jaish al-Islam chief Zahran Allouch reportedly killed by Russian airstrike during a meeting to reconcile feuding groups
Opposition activists say an airstrike near the capital Damascus has killed top rebel commander Zahran Allouch.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said an airstrike hit an Islam Army meeting near the Damascus suburb of Otaya on Friday killing several officials including Allouch.
The Lebanese Al-Mayadeen TV said Allouch was killed during a meeting to reconcile two feuding militant factions near Damascus. The station said 13 airstrikes hit eastern Damascus on Friday.
Saudi-backed Allouch, head of the powerful Jaish al-Islam Syrian rebel group, was one of the most powerful rebel commanders and his group controls large parts of the Damascus suburbs.
His death comes a month before peace talks between the Syrian government and the opposition are to begin in Geneva.
Allouch’s death was confirmed on Twitter by the head of Syria’s opposition National Coalition.
