Al-Qaida branch announces leader's death in Syria He was reportedly killed by a rival group of rebels

CAIRO (AP) — An Al-Qaida group in Syria says one of its top commanders in Syria was killed in an ambush by rival, Western-backed rebels in a northern province.

It was the latest in rising infighting among rebel groups in northern Syria, where the opposition controls large parts of territory captured from President Bashar Assad's troops earlier this year.

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The group known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant says its commander in Idlib province, Abu Abdullah al-Libi, was ambushed by members of the Free Syrian Army near a border crossing with Turkey.

The statement says the attackers sprayed the car with bullets on Sunday, killing al-Libi. The name is a nom de guerre.

The statement could not be independently confirmed but it was posted on a commonly-used militant website.