Key Syrian Rebel Leader Dies of Wounds.
Source: ABC News / AP
The leader of one of Syria's most prominent rebel units died early Monday of wounds sustained during a strike by government troops last week, his group said, dealing another blow to fighters reeling from a series of recent battlefield losses.
The death of Abdul-Qadir Saleh, founder of the Tawhid Brigade, was announced by opposition groups and activists. It followed advances by President Bashar Assad's troops against rebels on two key fronts: the capture of a string of opposition-held suburbs south of Damascus and the taking of two towns and a military base outside the northern city of Aleppo.
The Tawhid Brigade is one of Syria's best known and powerful rebel groups, with an estimated 10,000 fighters, and is particularly strong in Aleppo province. Under Saleh's command, the group last year spearheaded a rebel push that seized large sections of the provincial capital Aleppo.
On Thursday night, a government air strike hit its command post in Aleppo province, according to local activists and the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The 34-year-old Saleh was severely wounded and later died in a hospital in Turkey, said a brigade spokesmen who goes by the name of Akram al-Halaby. Many rebels do not use their real names, fearing they or their families will be identified and targeted by security forces.
Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/key-syrian-rebel-leader-dies-wounds-20921627
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