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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Syria violence: Blast 'kills Islamist rebel chiefs' | Syria violence: Blast 'kills Islamist rebel chiefs' |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A bomb blast has killed at least 20 people at a meeting of leaders of the key Islamist insurgent group Ahrar al-Sham in Syria, reports say. | A bomb blast has killed at least 20 people at a meeting of leaders of the key Islamist insurgent group Ahrar al-Sham in Syria, reports say. |
| State TV said the group's head, Hassan Abboud, was killed in the attack in the north-western town of Ram Hamdan, though other reports said he was hurt. | State TV said the group's head, Hassan Abboud, was killed in the attack in the north-western town of Ram Hamdan, though other reports said he was hurt. |
| The group is part of the Islamic Front, a coalition of seven rebel groups. | The group is part of the Islamic Front, a coalition of seven rebel groups. |
| In February, Ahrar al-Sham blamed the rival Islamic State group for an attack which killed several of its members. | In February, Ahrar al-Sham blamed the rival Islamic State group for an attack which killed several of its members. |
| Ahrar al-Sham is one of the biggest rebel groups fighting the government of President Bashar al-Assad. | Ahrar al-Sham is one of the biggest rebel groups fighting the government of President Bashar al-Assad. |
| Two activist groups said a suicide bomber had detonated a vest at the meeting in Idlib province on Tuesday. | Two activist groups said a suicide bomber had detonated a vest at the meeting in Idlib province on Tuesday. |
| In an interview with the BBC in June, Abboud had denounced Islamic State (IS), saying it represented "the worst image ever of Islam". | |
| Mr Abboud said that unlike IS, Ahrar al-Sham would never pledge loyalty to outsiders and would only fight in Syria. | |
| He also stressed that the Islamic Front did not use suicide bombers. |