Syria Says Top Nusra Leaders Killed in Idlib Strike

The military commander of al-Nusra Front in the Syrian province of Idlib was killed Thursday in an operation by the Syrian army, state-run news agency SANA said.

The agency said Abu Hammam al-Shami was slain during a military operation that targeted a Nusra meeting in the village of Habeet, in the northern Idlib province.

It did not elaborate, but the report suggested he was killed in an airstrike.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirmed that a Nusra Front leadership meeting was targeted in Idlib, which left a number of prominent leaders dead, including Abu Hammam.

It said it was not clear whether the meeting was targeted by a U.S.-led coalition airstrike or a Syrian army strike, noting that “there are conflicting reports about the fate of al-Nusra Front chief Abu Mohammed al-Golani after reports said he was present in the targeted location.”

Pro-Damascus al-Mayadeen television also cited “unconfirmed reports” as saying that al-Golani was wounded in “a Syrian airstrike on the Front's headquarters in Idlib's countryside.”