DHAKA: An Al-Qaeda group in Syria says one of its top commanders in Syria was killed in an ambush by rival, Western-backed rebels in a northern province.

It was the latest in rising infighting among rebel groups in northern Syria, where the opposition controls large parts of territory captured from president Bashar al-Assad’s troops earlier this year.

The group known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant says its commander in Idlib province Abu Abdullah al-Libi was ambushed by members of the Free Syrian Army near a border crossing with Turkey.

The statement says the attackers sprayed the car with bullets on Sunday, killing al-Libi.

The name is a nom de guerre.

BDST: 1710 HRS, SEPT 23, 2013
RoR/GCP