Syrian Air Force General ‘Killed by Rebels’
Syrian Air Force General ‘Killed by Rebels’
A senior Syrian air force general has been killed by rebels in central Damascus, state television reports.
Abdullah Mahmoud al-Khalidi was shot dead late on Monday in the capital’s Rukn al-Din district, it said.
The attack appears to be the latest in a string of rebel attacks on high-level figures from President Bashar al-Assad’s administration.
In July, a bomb killed the country’s defence minister and Mr Assad’s brother-in-law, Assef Shawkat.
“As part of their campaign to target national personalities and scientists, armed terrorist groups assassinated Air Force General Abdullah Mahmud al-Khalidi in the Damascus district of Rukn al-Din,” the broadcaster said.
It added that he was one of Syria’s foremost experts in aviation. He was also a member of the Syrian Air Force command, Agence France Presse reports.
The Free Syrian Army claimed that it was behind the attack, saying it had also killed an air force intelligence official in the same operation, AFP reports.