At least 17 dead in second strike against Syrian rebel chiefs

For the second time in three days, Russian intelligence Sunday marked a group of Syrian rebel commanders for assassination. Syrian commandoes booby-trapped buildings at a farm in Kfar Shams near Deraa in southern Syria and detonated the bombs during a general meeting of local rebel commanders. At least 17 are reported dead. Friday, the radical Jaysh Islam founder Zaharan Allouche and several other rebel commanders were killed by a Russian air strike while conferring at a secret venue outside Damascus. DEBKAfile: The liquidation of two large groups of commanders in three days is a mortal blow for the Syrian rebel movement and its various branches.