Al Qaeda-linked rebel leader reported killed in Syria.

Al Qaeda-linked rebel leader reported killed in Syria.

Los Angle Time | 24 Sep 2013 :: A leader of an Al Qaeda-linked rebel group in Syria has been assassinated, activists said Monday, further inflaming hostilities between opposition fighters and potentially throwing into greater disarray those trying to oust PresidentBashar Assad.

Abu Abdullah Libi, the self-styled emir of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria in the northern province of Idlib, was killed Sunday when the vehicle he was riding in was sprayed with bullets, rebels and activists said.

One activist with close ties to the Islamic State said Libi was probably on his way to the village of Hazano, where fighting between his group and mainstream Free Syrian Army rebels erupted earlier in the day, in a bid to negotiate a cease-fire.

As Libi passed through a Free Syrian Army checkpoint, his vehicle came under fire from several directions, said the activist, who goes by the alias Junood for security reasons. Other activists and rebels said the ambush happened on a stretch of highway not controlled by any one group and was carried out by unknown assailants.

A spokesman for the Free Syrian Army denied that its fighters were involved, although the group is far from cohesive.

The incident is certain to cause a further fracturing of the relationship between the two rebel groups, which have by turns fought alongside and against each other.  Activists in Idlib said they feared the Islamic State would retaliate and there would be more fighting.

That would be one more setback for the rebels, whose foreign backers have been slow to send promised military aid because of fears that extremists in their midst are gaining influence.  Fighters within the Free Syrian Army increasingly accuse the Islamic State of being interested only in seizing areas already controlled by the opposition to establish an Islamic caliphate.(Courtesy:Los Angle Time)

Gunmen Attack Sinai Airport, Military Checkpoints.

Gunmen Attack Sinai Airport, Military Checkpoints.

At least one Egyptian soldier was killed and two were wounded as Islamist gunmen opened fire on the El Arish airport in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula and at three military checkpoints early on Friday, state television reported.

According to the report, the attackers fired rocket-propelled grenades at the army checkpoints outside the airport, close to the border with Gaza and Israel.

It was not clear whether the coordinated attack was related to the military overthrow of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi on Wednesday.

The Sinai has seen an upsurge in lawlessness since the ouster of former President Hosni Mubarak in 2011 that has sparked warnings from Western governments against travel to most parts of the peninsula.

On Tuesday, Egypt's military boosted its presence in the Sinai Peninsula near the border with Gaza.

The IDF confirmed that Egypt had boosted its military presence in the Sinai, where the 1979 peace treaty between the two countries imposed strict controls on deployments, but said the action had been coordinated with Israeli leaders.

Criminal activity such as drugs smuggling and human trafficking has flourished in the Sinai, alongside a growing presence by terrorist groups that has seen attacks on Egyptian security personnel and across the border against Israel.

In August 2012, terrorists killed 16 Egyptian soldiers near the border before commandeering an armored vehicle which they drove into Israel, where they were killed in a helicopter strike.

In March, Bedouin kidnapped an Israeli and a Norwegian tourist in the south of the peninsula, which is dotted with beach resorts, to press for the release of jailed relatives.(Courtesy:Relegion Peace)