Rebels appoint new leader after Zahran Allouch killed in Syrian airstrike

Militant groups in Syria are mourning the death of a powerful rebel commander killed in an airstrike near Damascus – a high-profile assassination that may shift the balance of power in rebel-held suburbs of Damascus.

Zahran Allouch, the head of the Army of Islam group, was killed in an airstrike that targeted the group’s headquarters during a meeting on Friday. He was instantly killed along with other commanders from the ultra conservative Ahrar al-Sham and the Faylaq al-Rahman groups.