Terrorist Alloush reportedly meets MI6 officials in London, dreaming of the capture of Damascus

[Bleipriester]

This was confirmed by pro-opposition sources. His "Army of Islam" denied that, however.

"Leader of the Saudi-funded Army of Islam, Zahran Alloush, has secretly headed to London in response to an invitation by the British Secret Intelligence Service MI6, pro-opposition sources confirmed.

Alloush’s London trip was preceded by a visit to Saudi Arabia and Turkey.


According to the sources, Alloush will discuss the prospective battle his militants expected to wage soon against government forces in the capital Damascus. Talks with MI6 officials will also include the mechanisms by which order shall be maintained in the country’s capital in case government troops was defeated or retreated.

In contrast, spokesman of the Army of Islam, Captain Islam Alloush, denied through his twitter accounts such allegations completely. “We would have publicly announced such visit if it was for real. The Army [of Islam]has no problem disclosing any visit to any country whatsoever once they actually occur).

Formerly known as Liwa Al-Islam, the [Army], formed on 29 September 2013, is an alliance of multiple Islamist and Salafist units fighting the Syrian Army, mainly active in Damascus Eastern Ghouta with Douma as its operation base."

Zahran Alloush reportedly meets MI6 officials in London

 

[waltky]

Like playin' whack-a-mole - no sooner than ya kill one, another steps up an' takes his place...

Syrian Rebels Mourn Loss of Leader, Name Replacement
December 26, 2015 - Syrian militant groups mourned Saturday the death of a powerful rebel commander who was killed in an airstrike near Damascus, and they named a top military commander as his successor.

Syrian rebels and the government said Friday that Zahran Alloush, founder of the Army of Islam, was killed in a raid that targeted the group's headquarters in eastern Ghouta, a suburb of Damascus. Alloush's death was a significant blow to the armed opposition, bolstering President Bashar al-Assad ahead of new peace talks scheduled for early 2016. The Army of Islam appointed Essam al-Buwaydhani, also known as Abu Hammam, as Alloush's replacement. The strike, which also killed other senior members of the group, came days after the United Nations passed a resolution endorsing a path to peace in Syria.

Zahran Alloush, founder of the Army of Islam, talks during a conference in Douma, Syria, Aug. 27, 2014. Alloush was killed Friday in a Russian airstrike on the his group's headquarters in Eastern Ghouta.​

It also resulted in the delay of a U.N.-brokered plan to evacuate thousands of jihadist fighters under siege near the Syrian capital, monitors and security sources said. The evacuation of more than 2,000 Islamic State fighters and other militants, plus about 1,500 of their family members, from southern Damascus had been expected to take place early Saturday. But the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the deal stalled hours after Alloush was killed. Monitors said he was prepared to guarantee the extremists safe passage to the IS stronghold city of Raqqa, as part of the U.N.-backed peace plan. The evacuation deal was the first of its kind between the Assad government and IS, and it remained unclear late Saturday whether the evacuation would take place at a later time.

This image made from video of drone footage allegedly showing Syrian army airstrikes targeting Zahran Allouch, the head of the Army of Islam group near Damascus, Syria​

The U.N. has not commented publicly on the latest developments. But U.N. negotiators and foreign governments have in recent months stepped up efforts to broker a series of local cease-fires and safe-passage agreements to try to curb fighting. On Saturday, U.N. Syria mediator Staffan de Mistura said he aimed to convene peace talks January 25 in Geneva. He said those talks would include the "broadest possible spectrum of the Syrian opposition and others," and that they would require the "full cooperation" of all parties to the conflict. The statement also said continuing developments on the ground "should not be allowed to derail" peace initiatives.

'A turning point'

See also:

Evacuation of IS Fighters From Damascus Delayed
December 26, 2015 — A U.N.-sponsored deal to evacuate more than 2,000 Islamic State fighters and other militants from rebel-held parts of south Damascus has been delayed, a body that monitors the war said on Saturday, a day after a rebel leader was killed.

Buses were due to transport the fighters to Raqqa, the de facto capital of Islamic State in northern Syria, Lebanese Hezbollah's Manar TV station said. But the deal fell through after the Army of Islam rebel group's leader Zahran Alloush, through whose territory the convoy had been granted safe passage, was killed in an air strike on Friday, the broadcaster said. The arrangement was the first of its kind between the Syrian authorities and Islamic State.

Rubble and heavy damage remain on a deserted street during a government escorted visit to Yarmouk refugee camp in Damascus, Syria, April 9, 2015. The United Nations brokered a deal to relocate some IS fighters and their families.​

It would have marked a significant show of strength by the government of President Bashar al-Assad, increasing its chances of reasserting control over a strategic area 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) south of the center of the capital. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an independent British-based monitoring group that tracks violence across Syria, said the evacuation had been expected to take place early Saturday but was delayed as there was now no secure territory for the militants to pass through. Manar TV said buses arrived on Friday to pick up the fighters and at least 1,500 family members but had turned back.

The broadcaster is the official mouthpiece of Hezbollah, a Lebanese Shi'ite group which is a major ally of Assad and has sent its forces to fight alongside government troops. Islamic State has a large presence in several southern neighborhoods of Damascus, including the Palestinian refugee camp of Yarmouk. Local hostility towards the Jihadist group - which controls large swathes of territory in Syria and Iraq - has grown.

'A lot of hardship'

 

[Bleipriester]

While almasdarnews reported a Russian airstrike, German News TV-network N24 reported a Syrian airstrike. Almasdarnews later reported, intelligence and airstrike were Syrian, followed by a Russian airstrike.

Info:
The Peculiar Case of Zahran Alloush
Syrian Air Force Intelligence behind Alloush assassination in rural Damascus

 

[waltky]

Dey musta wanted him dead...

... real bad.