Takfiris Confirm Death of Top Commander in Syria Strike

An air strike near Syria’s battleground second city Aleppo killed the military leader of prominent Takfiri militant group and at least one other commander, Takfiri sources and a monitor said Thursday.

The strike on a meeting of commanders of the so-called “Jaish al-Fateh” (Army of Conquest) alliance came hot on the heels of a major defeat for the insurgents, which saw them under renewed siege inside Aleppo after an army advance this week.

Former Al-Qaeda affiliate Al-Nusra Front, renamed “Fateh al-Sham Front” when it broke ties in July, announced on Twitter “the martyrdom” of commander Abu Omar Saraqeb in an air strike.

The Takfiri “Fateh al-Sham” is a leading member of the “Jaish al-Fateh” which groups its militants with other insurgents like “Ahrar al-Sham” in the most prominent anti-regime alliance.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said unidentified aircraft hit the “Jaish al-Fateh” meeting on Thursday night, killing Saraqeb and another militant commander named as Abu Muslim al-Shami.

Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said it was not immediately clear whether the strike was carried out by the Syrian army, Russian air forces or the US-led.

According to the London-based Observatory, Abu Omar Saraqeb was a leading member of Al-Qaeda in Iraq in its fight against the US-led occupation after 2003 before becoming a key commander of Al-Nusra Front and then “Fateh al-Sham” in Syria.

He reportedly also founded Al-Nusra Front’s Lebanon branch which has claimed responsibility for several bombings in Syria’s western neighbor.

He operates under different noms de guerre, making it difficult to know his nationality.