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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
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| Syria war: Air defence chief Gen Hussein Ishaq killed | Syria war: Air defence chief Gen Hussein Ishaq killed |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The head of Syria's air defences has died amid fighting near Damascus. | The head of Syria's air defences has died amid fighting near Damascus. |
| Gen Hussein Ishaq was said to have been wounded as rebels attacked an air defence base near the town of Mleiha on Saturday and later died. | Gen Hussein Ishaq was said to have been wounded as rebels attacked an air defence base near the town of Mleiha on Saturday and later died. |
| He is one of a handful of high-ranking military officers to be killed in the country's civil war. | He is one of a handful of high-ranking military officers to be killed in the country's civil war. |
| Rebels are fighting to depose President Bashar al-Assad's regime in a bloody conflict that began three years ago. | Rebels are fighting to depose President Bashar al-Assad's regime in a bloody conflict that began three years ago. |
| Despite the war, the government plans to hold a presidential election next month in the areas under its control. | Despite the war, the government plans to hold a presidential election next month in the areas under its control. |
| Fiercely contested | Fiercely contested |
| The director of the UK-based activist group Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Rami Abdel Rahman, said Gen Ishaq's death was an "important psychological blow" to the regime. | |
| The air defence forces' headquarters is in a fiercely contested area of the current fighting around Damascus, AFP news agency reports. | The air defence forces' headquarters is in a fiercely contested area of the current fighting around Damascus, AFP news agency reports. |
| The rebels do not have an air force, the agency adds, so forces under Gen Ishaq's command have rarely been deployed for air defence. | The rebels do not have an air force, the agency adds, so forces under Gen Ishaq's command have rarely been deployed for air defence. |
| For more than a month the Syrian army, backed by Lebanese Shia militant group Hezbollah, has been fighting to force the rebels out of Mleiha. | For more than a month the Syrian army, backed by Lebanese Shia militant group Hezbollah, has been fighting to force the rebels out of Mleiha. |
| The Observatory said that despite initial regime advances in Mleiha, the rebels have recovered ground, retaking several buildings around the central town hall. | The Observatory said that despite initial regime advances in Mleiha, the rebels have recovered ground, retaking several buildings around the central town hall. |
| The army is completely in control of Damascus, but rebels still hold several towns and villages on the outskirts of the city despite blockades, air strikes and shelling. | The army is completely in control of Damascus, but rebels still hold several towns and villages on the outskirts of the city despite blockades, air strikes and shelling. |
| More than 150,000 people have been killed since the war began and millions more have become refugees. | More than 150,000 people have been killed since the war began and millions more have become refugees. |