Blast in northwest Syria kills top al-Qaeda military commander

Al Qaeda’s official Syrian wing, the Nusra Front, announced on Thursday the death of its top military commander, who insurgent sources said fell victim to a blast targeting a high-level militant meeting.

General Military Commander Abu Humam al-Shami, a veteran of Islamist militant fighting in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria, was the senior-most member of the group to die in the Syria war, an insurgent source said.

Insurgent sources said a US-led coalition air strike hit the meeting in the northwestern province of Idlib, but a coalition spokesman said it had not conducted air strikes in the province during the past 24 hours. Syrian insurgents have in the past killed member of rival militant groups by planting bombs at meetings.

The blast comes at a time of flux for the Nusra Front, which is waging war on other insurgents and also looking for support from Gulf states, sources in Nusra have said.

“The Islamic Nation is bleeding because of the news of the martyrdom of Commander Abu Humam,” Nusra Front said on Twitter.

“It’s a major blow to Nusra. A very painful, very powerful hit,” one insurgent source said. – (Reuters)