![Smoke rises after the war crafts belong to Assad Regime forces carried out airstrikes on the Darat Izza district of Aleppo, Syria on 22 April, 2017 [Mahmud Faisal/Anadolu Agency]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/20170422_2_23234080_21282833.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1)
Senior Daesh militants, including the group’s “minister of war”, have been killed in Syrian army operations to the east of Aleppo, Syrian state media cited a military source as saying today.
The “minister of war” was identified as Abu Musab Al-Masri. The military source said he was among a number of senior Daesh militants killed in the army operations, who included Saudis and Iraqis.
The Syrian government has been locked in a six-year civil war against an array of opposition forces. Fighting began after the government cracked down on peaceful pro-democracy demonstrations in 2011. As a result, an estimated 400,000 people have been killed and half of Syria’s population has been displaced.