ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — A senior leader of the Syrian Al-Qaida offshoot Nusra Front was killed Sunday near the embattled city of Aleppo by the Syrian regime army, the UK’s Independent newspaper has reported.
According to an Independent source, Abu Suleiman al-Masri, originally from Egypt, was killed during a fight near Tal Al-Karsani village outside Aleppo. Russian state media also reported Masri was killed by the Syrian army, but a report in the UK’s Daily Mail newspaper said he had actually been killed in a gun fight by fighters from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
Masri’s death followed statements by the Russian defense ministry this week saying ISIS was in talks with other extremist groups operating in Syria, including Nusra Front, to join forces against the Syrian army, which has recently been involved in an offensive on Aleppo backed by Russian warplanes, according to The Independent.
“Intercepted radio communications suggest that commanders of several large units of the [Nusra Front] terrorist group have begun talks with leaders of the Islamic State terrorist organization about joining forces to contain the Syrian [army] offensive,” The Independent quoted Russian defense ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov as saying on October 21.
The Nusra Front is an Al-Qaida offshoot operating in Syria, combating the Syrian government and also sporadically fighting ISIS and other forces in Syria.
