Leader of powerful Syrian rebel group killed in airstrike

The leader of one of the most powerful rebel groups in Syria appears to have been killed in an airstrike near the capital. A well-placed rebel source told the Guardian that Zahran Alloush, the leader of Jaysh al-Islam, one of the largest opposition groups that commands thousands of fighters on the ground near Damascus, was killed in an airstrike on Friday.

His death was first reported by the Reuters news agency citing two rebel sources. The Syrian state news agency said Alloush was killed in the eastern Ghouta region, where Jaysh al-Islam holds sway. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a network with wide contacts inside Syria, said aircraft targeted a meeting of Jaysh al-Islam’s leadership in eastern Ghouta, killing Alloush and five other senior leaders.

If true, the death of Alloush, who is reportedly backed by Saudi Arabia and Turkey, will be a major blow to the opposition.

The fact that the airstrikes targeted a meeting of the group’s leadership represents an intelligence coup for the Syrian government and its foreign backer, Russia, which has led the reconnaissance and surveillance efforts since itintervened on behalf of Bashar al-Assad’s regime back in October. “The news has reached us, that is God’s will and we pray that God has mercy on him,” said a source in Jaysh al-Fateh, one of the strongest rebel coalitions in Syria, which includes fighters from Jabhat al-Nusra, the al-Qaida affiliate in the country.

One of the most controversial figures in the insurgency, Alloush rose to prominence as the leader of Jaysh al-Islam, which has maintained control over areas in the suburbs of Damascus despite years of siege by the Assad regime and relentless aerial campaigns on opposition-held areas. Eastern Ghouta was even subjected to chemical attacks when the government launched missiles laced with sarin in the area, killing over a thousand people – including many children.

Alloush’s early propaganda videos were overtly sectarian, urging the expulsion of Shias and Alawites from Damascus. Assad belongs to the Alawite minority, which is nominally part of Shia Islam, and who are considered heretics by Sunni extremists. He was also opposed to the Islamic State terror group, and lost many fighters in battles against the militants.

Since then, Alloush sought to temper his views to appear more palatable to potential western backers, retracting the demands for the expulsion of Alawites in a recent interview with McClatchy, calling them “part of the Syrian people”.