Country's state-run TV claims the head of Jabhat al-Nusra, Abu Mohammad al-Golani, died in the coastal province of Latakia

This article is more than 6 years old

This article is more than 6 years old

Syrian state media reported the death of the leader of Jabhat al-Nusra, an al-Qaida linked group fighting the regime of president Bashar al-Assad. Unverified reports said Abu Mohammad al-Golani had been killed in the Latakia area.

If confirmed, his death would be a severe blow to one of the two main jihadi-type formations on the rebel side of the Syrian conflict and a further boost to the government's morale after recent political and military successes.

Pro-Syrian media in Lebanon also reported the news. But social media quoted another Nusra leader, Abu Ilyas, as insisting that Golani was alive.

Jabhat al-Nusra (JAN) first announced its existence in early 2012, and it has claimed responsibility for many suicide bombings.

It is thought to have 7,000 fighters and is considered one of the better equipped, trained and financed of the many anti-Assad groups in Syria. The US has designated it as a terrorist organisation.

Little is known about Golani, a secretive figure who hides his face whenever he is in public. His name suggests he is from the Golan Heights in south-western Syria, bordering on and partially occupied by Israel, but his nationality is unknown. He has also been reported killed twice before – in Iraq in 2006 and in Syria in 2008.

In April Golani released an audio message declaring that JAN was not merging with al-Qaida's affiliate in Iraq, and instead pledged allegiance to al-Qaida's overall leadership. Analysts say JAN now appears to be in competition with the "Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant," which controls parts of northern Syria.

Its successes in recent months have fed into the Assad regime's narrative that it is fighting to defend the country against al-Qaida – challenging the west to chose between him and jihadi terrorists.

JAN is also one of a dozen hardline Islamist groups which have rejected the authority of the western-backed Joint Military Council of the Free Syrian Army, which has been struggling to unite armed opposition groups on the ground. It and others also oppose any negotiations with the regime.

In areas JAN controls it has tried to win popular support by distributing fuel, bread and blankets to the needy while controlling food prices to prevent exploitation. It has also set up sharia courts to dispense Islamic law.

It was unclear if Joulani's reported death was linked to a Syrian army ambush earlier on Friday near Damascus that killed between 20 and 40 rebels.

Sana, Syria's state news agency, released grisly photos purporting to show dead "terrorist fighters" strewn along a roadside. It said Nusra fighters were among them.

• This article was amended on 26 October 2013. The original text referred to "anti-Assad groups in Libya". It should have said "anti-Assad groups in Syria" - and now it does.