Top terror commander planning attack on West killed in Syria airstrike

An airstrike has killed a top al-Qaida commander and two other fighters in Syria, while Syrian troops backed by Hezbollah and Iranian fighters made advances on Saturday in their offensive to retake territory around the northern city of Aleppo from insurgents and jihadist fighters.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said it has documented the deaths of 250,124 people, including at least 74,426 civilians.

The United Nations Security Council has earlier imposed sanctions on six jihadi men, including al-Charekh.

USA officials had no immediate comment on the reported deaths. It said all four men had been dispatched to Syria by al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahri.

Reports further added that Sanafi was placed at number 12 among Saudi Arabia’s 85 “most wanted” list, He played central role in moulding Jabhat al-Nusra’s relations with Abdullah Azzam Brigades in Lebanon. Based on a statement released by the ministry, a terrorist training camp, an explosives workshop, various command points, weapons workshops, firing positions, depots, and fortified bunkers were destroyed in the attacks.

The United States killed top Al Qaeda official Muhsin al-Fadhli in an airstrike three months ago.

The U.S.-led coalition has been targeting the Nusra Front and the Islamic State radical group (ISIS) for more than a year, while Russia’s airstrikes in Syria started on September 30, 2015.

The Syrian conflict began with anti-government protests in March 2011 before spiraling into a multi-front war across the country after a brutal regime crackdown.

The source could not confirm whether the airstrike that killed the senior militants was conducted by the U.S.-led coalition or Russian Federation. Konashenkov said one of the targets was a building on the outskirts of the town of Salma in the coastal province of Latakia where foreign instructors prepared militants.