<p>Powerful Syrian rebel chief Zahran Alloush was killed in a regime air strike east of Damascus today, dealing blows to both the nearly five-year uprising and a fragile peace process.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Alloush, 44, was the commander of the Jaish al-Islam (Army of Islam) movement, the predominant opposition faction in the Eastern Ghouta rebel bastion east of Damascus.<br /><br />He and five other commanders were killed "in an air strike that targeted one of their meetings in Eastern Ghouta" today, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.<br /><br />A senior member of Jaish al-Islam confirmed Alloush's death to AFP, saying three planes targeted a "secret meeting" of commanders.<br /><br />The Syrian government and its media regularly refers to Jaish al-Islam as "terrorists," and state television did so again in the news alert announcing Alloush's death.<br /><br />In a statement carried by state television, Syria's army command said it had conducted the "special operation" that killed Alloush as part of its "national mission."<br /><br />A Syrian security source told AFP "dozens" of rebel fighters were killed in the raids, carried out by Syria's air force with newly-provided Russian missiles.<br /><br />The jets launched two rounds of strikes on the meeting with four missiles each, the source said. At least 12 Jaish al-Islam members and seven from the Islamist Ahrar al-Sham group were killed.<br /><br />Jaish al-Islam is the most prominent rebel faction in the Eastern Ghouta region, an opposition bastion east of the capital frequently bombarded by regime forces.<br /><br />Backed by Riyadh, it recently took part in landmark opposition talks in Saudi Arabia.<br />It was known to have extremist views and to have supported the establishment of an Islamic state before recently moving towards a more moderate position.<br /><br />Zahran Alloush was born in 1971 in Douma, one of the largest towns in Eastern Ghouta.<br />His father was a prominent Salafist preacher who now resides in Riyadh.<br /><br />Following in his father's footsteps, Alloush pursued religious studies in both Syria and Saudi Arabia. Alloush was arrested in 2009 and was released in June 2011 in a general amnesty, just three months after Syria's uprising against President Bashar al-Assad erupted.<br /><br />He took up arms, and in 2013 united a number of rebel groups under the banner of Jaish al-Islam. With close-cropped hair and a dark beard, Alloush was typically dressed in military-style fatigues.</p>
<p>Powerful Syrian rebel chief Zahran Alloush was killed in a regime air strike east of Damascus today, dealing blows to both the nearly five-year uprising and a fragile peace process.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Alloush, 44, was the commander of the Jaish al-Islam (Army of Islam) movement, the predominant opposition faction in the Eastern Ghouta rebel bastion east of Damascus.<br /><br />He and five other commanders were killed "in an air strike that targeted one of their meetings in Eastern Ghouta" today, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.<br /><br />A senior member of Jaish al-Islam confirmed Alloush's death to AFP, saying three planes targeted a "secret meeting" of commanders.<br /><br />The Syrian government and its media regularly refers to Jaish al-Islam as "terrorists," and state television did so again in the news alert announcing Alloush's death.<br /><br />In a statement carried by state television, Syria's army command said it had conducted the "special operation" that killed Alloush as part of its "national mission."<br /><br />A Syrian security source told AFP "dozens" of rebel fighters were killed in the raids, carried out by Syria's air force with newly-provided Russian missiles.<br /><br />The jets launched two rounds of strikes on the meeting with four missiles each, the source said. At least 12 Jaish al-Islam members and seven from the Islamist Ahrar al-Sham group were killed.<br /><br />Jaish al-Islam is the most prominent rebel faction in the Eastern Ghouta region, an opposition bastion east of the capital frequently bombarded by regime forces.<br /><br />Backed by Riyadh, it recently took part in landmark opposition talks in Saudi Arabia.<br />It was known to have extremist views and to have supported the establishment of an Islamic state before recently moving towards a more moderate position.<br /><br />Zahran Alloush was born in 1971 in Douma, one of the largest towns in Eastern Ghouta.<br />His father was a prominent Salafist preacher who now resides in Riyadh.<br /><br />Following in his father's footsteps, Alloush pursued religious studies in both Syria and Saudi Arabia. Alloush was arrested in 2009 and was released in June 2011 in a general amnesty, just three months after Syria's uprising against President Bashar al-Assad erupted.<br /><br />He took up arms, and in 2013 united a number of rebel groups under the banner of Jaish al-Islam. With close-cropped hair and a dark beard, Alloush was typically dressed in military-style fatigues.</p>