Special to WorldTribune.com

LONDON — The Syrian opposition has reported the death of a leading
intelligence officer in the regime of President Bashar Assad.

Opposition sources said Col. Iyad Mando was killed in an ambush by Sunni
rebels on March 26 near Damascus International Airport. They said Mando,
identified as commander of a key unit in Air Force Intelligence, was shot to
death after a rebel search that lasted several months.

“He was one of the leading aides of Assad and helped organize the
anti-democracy campaign,” an opposition source said.

Reports of Mando’s death were published on several opposition web sites. The Assad regime did not confirm the reports.

Air Force Intelligence was deemed a leading agency in the crackdown on the Syrian opposition. The agency employed plainclothes officers to infiltrate, identify and capture leaders of anti-Assad protests.

The rebel Free Syrian Army said Mando was responsible for bloody attacks on civilians. FSA officers said Mando led a recent operation on a Sunni village near Damascus in which 11 people were killed and 38 injured.

About 10,000 people, including 35 on March 26, were said to have been killed in the year-long revolt against Damascus. The regime has reported the death of some 2,500 security and military personnel.

  Bashar Assad, Col. Iyad Mando, Free Syrian Army, Sunni rebels, Syria Air Force Intelligence, Top Assad intelligence official said killed in rebel ambush