Other unconfirmed reports say the assassination of top rebel commander Zahran Alloush near Damascus on Friday night has torpedoed the deal to evacuate the fighters.
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Alloush’s death is a blow to insurgents fighting to topple President Bashar Assad and a boost to government forces who have been bolstered by the Russian military intervention in Syria in the past few months. In addition to Allouch, it said the airstrike killed “a large number of commanders of Ahrar al-Sham and Faylaq al-Rahman”, other rebel factions who are often allied with the Army of Islam.
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Backed by Saudi Arabia, the group recently took part in a landmark opposition meeting in Riyadh aimed at forming a united front for eventual talks with Assad’s regime.
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Dec 26, 2015- The head and several leaders of one of Syria’s most powerful rebel groups, Jaysh al-Islam, have been killed in an air strike east of Damascus.
However, Aron Lund, a Syria expert, said the death of Allouch, who led the Army of Islam since it was founded around four years ago, could amount to “a decapitation strike” for the group.
Islamic State (IS) militants took over parts of the camp earlier this year.
The Syrian state news agency, SANA, said Alloush had been killed in the eastern Ghouta region without attributing or claiming responsibility.
“May God accept Commander Zahran Alloush among the martyrs… and may the factions of Ghouta join forces to bridge the gaps and complete the mission”, wrote Khaled Khoja, head of the opposition National Coalition, on Twitter.
Although Alloush’s forces have battled extremist groups such as Islamic State, he had issued statements that appeared sympathetic to al-Qaida and its late leader, Osama bin Laden.
The group made Abu Homam Essam al-Boudani the new commander, Jaysh al-Islam announced in a video message. Hezbollah today revealed the deal is much broader and included other Islamist factions, including al-Qaeda’s Nusra Front.
Saudi leaders have called for Assad to leave power, and intensified Russian strikes on rebel forces, including Saudi allies such as Alloush, may shake the oil-rich kingdom’s support for renewed peace efforts.
Despite the name of his organization, Alloush denied the group wants to spread Sharia in its areas of control.
Geneva was the site of two rounds of U.N.-brokered peace talks early previous year between Assad’s government and rebels who have been fighting him since March 2011.
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Jaysh al-Islam, with thousands of trained fighters, is the biggest and seen as the most organised rebel group. Alawites are a Shiite offshoot to which Assad’s family also belongs.
