Syrian rebel chief killed in Aleppo airstrike

Two rebel sources said on Thursday that Saraqeb had been killed at a location in the countryside near the city of besieged city of Aleppo. An Islamist source told the news agency Reuters the militants had been in a secret hideout in the village of Kafr Naha.

The group has been playing a key role in battles against Syrian army troops and Iranian backed Shi'ite militias.

The nationality of the jets that hit the location was not immediately known. The struggle for Aleppo has come to symbolize the lack of concerted international coordination between Western powers, Russia and Turkey in Syria.

Unconfirmed reports note that several other senior figures were either injured or killed.

Al Qaeda's Syrian branch, the Nusra Front, said last year it was ending its relationship with the global jihadist network founded by Osama bin Laden. It said it wanted to remove any pretext for attacks on Syrian civilians, a move that was dismissed by Washington.

jbh/kl (AFP, Reuters)