Al-Qaeda’s leader in Syria killed as graphic picture of body shows bloody head wound

Killed: Abu Sulaiman Al-Masri

The leader of Al-Qaeda in Syria has been killed during fighting in the city of Aleppo.

Graphic images of Sheikh Abu Sulaiman Al Masri’s body, with a bloody head wound, have been shared online.

His death has apparently been confirmed by Sunni Islamic jihadist militants the al-Nusra Front – his wing of Al-Qaeda within Syria.

It is not yet clear how exactly he died, although it is believed he was killed by Syrian and Russian armed forces.

Al-Masri’s death will be considered a huge blow to the terror group, which is considered the second largest jihadist organisation in the country next to Islamic State.

Warning: Graphic image

Graphic: Picture of Abu Sulaiman Al Masri’s body

But for Russian president Vladimir Putin, it will be seen as justification for his decision to launch air strikes on the war-torn country in support of embattled Syrian president Bashar Al-Assad and his forces.

Russian bombs have been supporting Syrian troops on the ground in the fight to reopen a key Government supply road closed off by Islamic State.

Terror group: Members of al Qaeda’s Nusra Front drive in a convoy

At least 28 ISIS fighters and 21 Syrian troops have died so far in the battle, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Since the beginning of October, Russia has focused its aerial bombardment on north-western Syria , embarking upon on a targeted campaign to quash opposition to al-Assad, who visited president Putin in Moscow this week.

Khaled Almilaji, the country director of Medical Relief in Syria hit out at this latest round of attacks on the town of Sarmin which has been heavily shelled over the past two years.

He said: “The whole world has to be just as angry as they were with what happened in Afghanistan.

“Their anger must not just be directed at Bashar, who has been inhuman with us, but also at the Russians , who are just as bad, but more accurate in their targeting.”

On Tuesday, 13 people were killed when a bomb, believed to be Russian, ripped through a field hospital in Sarmin.