Syrian rebel group names new leaders after explosion kills nearly a dozen leading members

[EC]

BEIRUT –  An ultraconservative Syrian rebel group says it has named new leaders, a day after an explosion killed nearly a dozen of its top members.

A spokesman for Ahrar al-Sham said Wednesday in a video statement posted online that Hashem al-Sheik Abu Jaber would assumed overall leadership of the group, while Abu Saleh Tahan would fill the role of military chief.

The two take charge of a once-powerful group decimated by the deaths of nearly all its leading members, including longtime chief Hassan Aboud, in an explosion that struck a high-level meeting late Tuesday in northwestern Syria .

It was not immediately clear who was behind the blast, and there even were conflicting reports on the nature of the explosion. Ahrar al-Sham said the men were killed in a car bombing.

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2014/09/10/syrian-rebel-group-names-new-leaders-after-explosion-kills-nearly-dozen-leading/

[EC]

And here is what we are fighting, in a nutshell. It's a hydra. Cut off the head and two new ones grow. The explosion / assassination happened yesterday evening. This afternoon, a new command structure is in place and they'll carry on as normal. Maybe slightly less effectively, but I'd not count on it.

There is only three ways to kill a hydra.

Choke it to death - cut off it's funding and supply routes.
Start at the tail and work up - target the low level grunts first.
Poison it before it breeds - a legitimate use of the phrase "hearts and minds."

Ahrar al-Sham is not the force it once was, but the same techniques apply to ISIL and AQ.

[evadR]

Since it was done with such professionalism, my bet is on the Mossad.

[EC]

Since it was done with such professionalism, my bet is on the Mossad.

I don't know - it's a long way. Plus they'd have planted a bit of evidence against a rival faction to stir the pot. I'd guess the Bordo Bereliler (Turkish SpecOps) as a more likely outside candidate. Closer, easier to nip across and seal the deal.

Most likely though is whoever wants that particular region and has slowly been wiping out Ahrar al-Sham.