The new commander of the anti-Damascus militancy group, the Free Syrian Army (FSA), Abdul-Ilah al-Bashir has been trained in Israel, media reports said.
Al-Bashir had gone to Israel for treatment last year after he was wounded in Southern Syria during clashes with the Syrian army, Al-Ahd news website reported.
Al-Bashir was in charge of the military council in Southern Syria and he was transferred to a hospital in Israel after he was wounded in a military operation in Al-Rushid region.
Al-Bashir replaced former FSA commander Salim Idris. The FSA declared Bashir as the replacement for Idris in a statement posted online.
While Al-Bashir was wounded, the news reports were spread that Al-Bashir had died and buried in Daraa province in a bid to distract attentions from his presence in Israel where he was receiving military training.
A military analyst told Al-Ahd that the appointment of Al-Bashir took place concurrent with the defeat of the militants in Al-Qalmoun region and after the second round of the Geneva II talks.
Idriss had long faced criticism by militants on the ground for failing to gather sufficient military aid for the armed groups.
Fars News Agency
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Israel is Training FSA and Treating Their Wounded
by Alexandra Valiente
Israel treated 1,600 injured Syria insurgents
As nearly 1,600 wounded Syrian insurgents have reportedly received treatment in Israeli hospitals, a leader of the Arab country’s foreign-backed opposition has praised the hawkish Israeli prime minister for his expression of support for the anti-Damascus militants.
The development comes as the Jerusalem-based al-Manar newspaper reported on Saturday that majority of the Syria insurgents that were treated in Israeli hospitals have returned to fighting against government forces in Syria.
This is while Syrian opposition leader Muhammad Badie told Israel Radio on Friday that the anti-Damascus opposition is grateful to Benjamin Netanyahu for his February 18 tour of a field hospital in the (occupied) Golan Heights that provided treatment for the insurgents.
Israel Channel 2 News recently aired footage of a secret Israeli field hospital in the occupied Golan Heights that has treated the foreign-sponsored militants.
Speaking from Istanbul, Badie added that Netanyahu’s public presence near the wounded insurgents sent an “important message.”
Meanwhile, the expenses for the medical treatment given to the anti-Damascus militants are covered by a private fund financed by the Saudi Arabia, other Persian Gulf kingdoms and (Zionist) Jewish foundations, al-Manar further reported.
Last year, the Israeli military carried out at least three airstrikes against Syria.
Damascus maintains that the Tel Aviv regime and its Western allies are aiding al-Qaeda-linked insurgent groups operating inside Syria.
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