Syria opposition commander killed in Aleppo

The militant commander of a foreign-sponsored militant group has been killed during a clean-up operation carried out by Syrian government forces in Syria’s strategic northwestern province of Aleppo.

Commander of the Nour al-Din al- Zinki outfit, Nasif Ismail, lost his life in the southern part of the province, located 355 kilometers (220 miles) north of the capital, Damascus, on Monday as Syrian troopers, backed by Russian air force, mounted a large-scale ground offensive to wrest control of the militant-held territory.

A military source, speaking on condition of anonymity, also told Syria’s official SANA news agency that Syrian soldiers had destroyed the bases of the Jaish al-Fatah (The Army of Conquest) militant coalition during operations in al-Tamanah town of Syria’s northwestern Idlib Province.

Syrian fighter jets also struck a pick-up truck, which had a heavy machinegun mounted on it and belonged to militants, as it was heading to al-Habit village in the same province.

Separately, Syrian warplanes carried out a number of aerial attacks against the positions of the al-Qaeda-affiliated Nusra Front in the village of Um Myal, which lies in the al-Salamiyah district of Syria’s western-central province of Hama, killing an unspecified number of miliants.

Syrian army forces also stormed several militant hideouts in Khatamlou village of the same province, killing scores of Nursa Front fighters and members of other opposition groups in the process.

Additionally, Syrian jets bombarded the strongholds of the Daesh militant group in the village of Qasir al-Ward and several other areas across Aleppo Province.

Moreover, Syrian soldiers launched rigorous operations against militant bases in the Saida town of the southwestern province of Dara’a, killing and injuring a host of opposition fighters. Several vehicles belonging to the extremist group as well as their munitions were also destroyed.

The conflict in Syria, which flared in March 2011, has claimed the lives of more than 250,000 people and left over one million injured, according to the United Nations.