Beirut: Syrian state-run TV has reported the leader of a powerful al Qaeda-linked rebel group has been killed a claim that if confirmed would be a huge blow to fighters trying to topple President Bashar Assad. At least one rebel commander denied the report.
Abu Mohammad al-Golani heads Jabhat al-Nusra, also known as Nusra Front, which has emerged as one of the most effective among rebel groups fighting Assad.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which closely monitors the fighting in Syria, said senior Nusra Front leaders contacted by activists in Latakia and the eastern Deir el-Zour province denied al-Golani had been killed.
Other Nusra Front sources said they could not confirm or deny the report yesterday, "because contact with al-Golani was cut," the Observatory said in a statement.
A rebel commander in a Damascus suburb contacted by The Associated Press said he believed al-Golani was "alive and well" based on his contacts with other fighters including those from Nusra Front. He declined to elaborate or be identified for security concerns.
The report comes as the fragmented rebels have suffered significant losses on the battlefield.
Syrian troops killed at least 40 opposition fighters, including Nusra Front members, earlier yesterday in an ambush near Damascus, the government said.
Assad`s forces backed by Lebanese Hezbollah gunmen also seized control of a rebel ammunition supply route on a highway linking the capital to its eastern suburbs part of a blistering government offensive to bolster its position amid an international push for peace talks.
State TV said al-Golani was killed in the coastal province of Latakia. It did not say when or give other details. News of his death was not mentioned in the main headlines of the TV`s late night news bulletin.
Al-Golani, who fought previously in Iraq, is a shadowy figure who is believed to have spent time recently in rebellious suburbs south of Damascus. Rebels have also gained footholds in mountainous regions of Latakia, which is largely loyal to Assad, and he may have gone there to direct fighting.
The Nusra Front is on a US State Department list of terrorist organisations. The group has claimed responsibility for numerous suicide bombings against government targets.
