FSA spokesman Qassem Saadeddine told Reuters that Kamal Hamami, a member of FSA's Supreme Military Council, also known as Abu Bassel al-Ladkani, was meeting with members of the al-Qaeda-linked the Islamic State of Iraq in the Syrian port city of Latakia when he was killed on Thursday.

"The Islamic State phoned me saying that they killed Abu Bassel and that they will kill all of the Supreme Military Council," Saadeddine said. "He met them to discuss battle plans."

Though Syria’s opposition forces have incorporated groups affiliated with al-Qaeda, news of the killing of a senior FSA member could signal a serious conflict emerging among the terrorist groups operating in Syria.

The leader of the Islamic State of Iraq, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, entered northern Syria to take control over al-Qaeda operations in the country.

The al-Qaeda-linked Nusra Front, which was officially declared a “terrorist group” by the US in May, is considered to be the most effective terrorist group battling the Syrian government troops.  The group merged with the Islamic State of Iraq in May.

Rivalries among the now fractured Syrian opposition look to be increasing, and are likely behind several assassinations of commanders within the moderate militant groups.
Crisis in Syria started in March 2011, when pro-reform protests turned into a massive insurgency following the intervention of Western and regional states.

The unrest, which took in terrorist groups from across Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, has transpired as one of the bloodiest conflicts in recent history.

As the foreign-backed insurgency in Syria continues without an end in sight, the US government boosts its political and military support to Takfiri extremists.

Washington has remained indifferent about warnings by Russia and other world powers about the consequences of arming militant groups.

NTJ/BA