Syria State TV Reports Death of al-Nusra Front Chief al-Jawlani
Syrian state television said Friday night that the leader of the jihadist al-Nusra Front had been killed, but state news agency Sana quickly withdrew an alert saying the same thing.
"The terrorist Abu Mohammed al-Jawlani, chief of the al-Nusra Front affiliated to al-Qaida, has been killed in the campaign in (the northwestern province of) Latakia," the television said, without providing details.
No confirmation was immediately available from other sources.
The al-Nusra Front, a jihadist group affiliated with al-Qaida, is one of the more powerful rebel groups battling to overthrow President Bashar Assad.
If confirmed, Jawlani's killing would be a major coup for the regime, which brands all of the rebels fighting against it "terrorists," including mainstream groups backed by the West and Arab states.
In May the United States designated Jawlani a global terrorist, saying he had been tasked by al-Qaida with installing Islamic sharia law across Syria and had ordered multiple suicide attacks.
Al-Nusra was designated a terrorist organization by the U.S. late last year.
Source: Agence France Presse
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