Senior al-Qaida commander killed in an airstrike in Syria

A few foreign reporters claim that al-Charekh was a member of the Khorasan group who was dispatched from Pakistan to Syria to plan attacks against the West. The Nusra Front’s leader, Abu Mohammed al-Golani, has denied the existence of the Khorasan group. He was one of most-wanted militants by Saudi Arabia. It was said that al-Charekh joined Nusra after he moved to Syria in April 2013.

A top al Qaeda official was killed this summer in airstrikes led by the United States.

Al-Nusra’s official Twitter account for Aleppo posted a photo of a mangled auto it said had been targeted in an airstrike in Al-Dana in western Aleppo. However, jihadists claimed on social media that Al-Nasr had been killed.

Al-Sharikh was one of six men that the UN Security Council imposed sanctions on a year ago.

USA officials had no immediate comment on the reported deaths. He said the airstrikes were in the province of Hama, Idlib, Latakia, Damascus and Aleppo. On Thursday, they targeted a total of 32 militant positions in several provinces including Aleppo, the Russian defense Ministry spokesman, Igor Konashenkov said. “A number of terrorists-led vehicles and hideouts were destroyed”, SANA added.

The Syrian conflict began with anti-government protests in March 2011 before spiralling into a multi-front war across the country after a brutal crackdown by President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

“Under Russian air cover, the pro-Assad forces regained the villages of Wadihi, Sabqiyeh and Shgheidleh in Aleppo province”, a local activist reported on Saturday.

US leaders have painted Russia’s airstrike campaign as an escalation in the global power’s efforts to gain greater influence in the Middle East – not combating ISIS.

Information for this article was contributed by Jim Heintz and Lolita C. Baldor of The Associated Press.