Syria: al-Nusra Front leader killed in airstrike

Abu Firas, a founding member of the al-Qaida linked militant
group, was reportedly killed in the rebel held province of Idlib

Reuters in Amman
Sunday 3 April 2016 23.04 BST

A prominent leader in Syrian al-Qaida offshoot al-Nusra Front was killed on Sunday in an air raid in the rebel held north-west province of Idlib alongside at least 20 other militants including foreign jihadists, rebels and a monitoring group have said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which tracks violence in the country, confirmed reports on websites by militant sympathisers that Abu Firas, known as “the Syrian”, was killed in a suspected Syrian or Russian air raid on a village north-west of the city of Idlib.

Abu Firas was a well known figure who had many followers within the hardline group and who gave commentaries released by al-Nusra Front on sensitive issues ranging from governance to religious jurisprudence.

An Islamist source said Abu Firas was a founding member of the militant group who fought in Afghanistan in the 1980s and was a senior member of its policy making Shura Council. He also worked with Osama bin Laden.

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