Syria Air Defense High Ranking Official Killeda

The head of Syria’s air defenses was killed in clashes near the capital, Damascus, a government official and activists said Sunday, one of a few high-ranking military officers to be killed in the country’s 3-year-old civil war, according to Reuters.

Lt. Gen. Hussein Ishaq’s death may boost morale for those fighting against President Bashar Assad’s government, as they’ve faced a series of setbacks and surrendered territory over the last year, Reuters reported.

Ishaq was one of the highest-ranking members of the Syrian army, said military analyst Hisham Jaber, a retired brigadier general in the Lebanese military, according to Reuters. He died Saturday after rebels attacked a Syrian air defense base near the town of Mleiha, said the government official.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also confirmed Ishaq’s death. It said he died from wounds he suffered during Saturday’s fighting, Reuters reported. The Observatory, which bases its reports on a network of activists on the ground, said Ishaq was killed in clashes with fighters from the Nusra Front, the al-Qaida affiliate in Syria, and other Islamic rebel groups.

Jaber said it was likely Ishaq led a weeks-long operation to push rebels out of Mleiha, a town on Damascus’ eastern outskirts, according to Reuters.

The Observatory said at least 34 pro-government troops and at least four rebels were killed in the fighting, Reuters reported. The anti-government Local Coordination Committees activist group also reported the incident, but did not say how many were killed.

Forces loyal to Assad have conducted a heavy bombing campaign around the area to flush rebels out of Mleiha. Rebels see the town as strategically important due to its proximity to the capital, Reuters reported.

The Syrian air defense unit fired rockets into Mleiha, said a Damascus-based activist who uses the name Abu Akram al-Shami, according to Reuters. The government-run news agency SANA did not report Ishaq’s death.