Syria rebel group appoints successor to slain commander

The leader of a powerful Syrian rebel group that controls key suburbs of Damascus was killed in an airstrike on Friday, according to activists and local media. It was a blow to the forces fighting against the government of Bashar Assad.

Reports of Alloush’s death also come amid intensifying diplomacy over the Syrian conflict, which has killed more than 250,000 people, displaced millions and emboldened extremist groups such as the Islamic State. The monitoring group said it was unclear whether the strike was carried out by Syrian or Russian aircraft.

Alloush led the Army of Islam, a group that had recently agreed to participate in a political process seeking to end the five-year-old conflict.

It was not immediately clear who was behind the strike, but the Syrian military claimed responsibility in a statement.

Rebels said he was killed by Russian missiles that hit Eastern Ghouta, a swathe of territory that has been besieged for years.

Critics have accused Jaysh al-Islam of methods comparable to those of Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) militants, as it reportedly resorts to the same inhumane methods used by the terrorist group, including public executions of prisoners.

Alloush, a one-time building contractor and son of an influential Salafist preacher now living in Saudi Arabia, was arrested in 2009 on charges of weapons possession and placed in prison.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights cites “leading sources” in Mr Alloush’s rebel group who say that that the commander was killed along with eight of his fellow fighters.

He said his group mainly controls areas in eastern Ghouta and was present at the opposition talks which took place in Saudi Arabia earlier last week to unite ranks and reach groups for possible peace negotiations with the regime forces in Geneva.

The airstrike was believed to be a Russian raid targeting headquarters of the group. Such attacks have killed and wounded scores of civilians.

However, his sectarian rhetoric against Syria’s Alawite and Shiite minorities, and calls for an Islamic system of governance and shunning of democracy aroused concern among Western observers.

The Army of Islam took part earlier this month in an opposition meeting held in Saudi Arabia to agree on an opposition delegation that would negotiate with government representatives in planned peace talks. The attack was a retaliation strike for the Syrian Air Force’s strikes in Ghouta.