Special to WorldTribune.com

NICOSIA — An Al Qaida commander was said to have been killed in
Syria.

The regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad has reported the death of
Walid Al Ayesh, a senior Al Qaida commander. Al Ayesh, known as Yasser, was
identified as the No. 2. man in the Al Qaida-aligned Al Nusra Front to
Protect the Levant.

“The authorities also seized an amount of weapons and ammunition,” the
official Syrian news agency, Sana, said on June 16.
Officials said security forces stormed a suspected Al Nusra stronghold
outside Damascus. In the ensuing clash, several people, including Al Ayesh,
were killed.

The regime said Al Ayesh was responsible for all car bombings in
Damascus. Hundreds of Syrians, many of them soldiers and security officers,
were killed in the attacks.

“Al Ayesh had supervised the rigging of the car bombs that were
detonated in Damascus,” Sana said.

Little has been known of Al Nusra, which appeared in early 2012. Western
intelligence sources said several insurgency squads were claiming
responsibility for attacks in the name of Al Nusra.

  Al Nusra Front to Protect the Levant, Bashar Assad, Syria claims killing of senior Al Qaida commander, Walid Al Ayesh, Yasser