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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
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| Syrian air force general 'killed by rebels' | Syrian air force general 'killed by rebels' |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| 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. | 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. | 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. | 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. | "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. | 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. | 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 incident, AFP reports. | |
| News of the attack came as violence continued in the capital and beyond. | |
| Air strikes hit targets in Damascus and the wider province as well as the north-western province of Idlib and the central province of Homs, according to the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. | |
| At least eight people died in the Damascus district of Hammouria, activists said. | |
| They added that the northern rebel-held town of Maarat al-Numan on the route between Damascus and Aleppo had also come under fire. |