Airstrike in Syria, many al Nusra commanders killed

Abu Homam al-Shami the top  military commander of Syria’s al-Nusra Front militant group has been killed in an air strike, the group has said and named the 3 other commanders killed  along with him as  as Abu Musab Falastini, Abu Omar Kurdi, and Abu Baraa Ansari.

Details of the attack are still  unclear,  but Syria’s state-run news agency said the army had targeted  the Nusra leaders as they met in northern Idlib province,  describing it as  a “unique operation”the Associated Press reported.

The Qaeda linked al Nusra Front is one of the most powerful groups fighting to overthrow Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

It was behind a major attack on the Air Force Intelligence headquarters in Aleppo on Wednesday....

Al-Shami is one of the most senior Nusra Front figures to be killed since it formed in 2012 and has fought in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria, Reuters news agency reported, quoting sources.

The weakness of the Western backed  Syrian opposition and the growing power of the al Nusra Front and Islamic State has complicated diplomatic efforts to end the Syrian conflict that has killed over 220,000 people.

Hezbollah’s mouthpiece Al Manar named  Mohammad Abdol Salam al-Lobnani, as the fifth  commander  killed and said a total of 18 comanders and members of al Nusra were killed in the airstrike

Abu Mohammad al-Goulani,  al Nusra’s top leader, was injured in the airstrike , according to Al- Manar

More: http://yalibnan.com/2015/03/05/al-nusra-identifies-all-4-commanders-killed-in-idlib-syria/