Syria’s air force general Abdullah Mahmoud al-Khalidi was shot by rebels on 29 October, according to the Syria’s state TV.

The killing is the latest in a number of attacks targeting senior members of President Bashar Al-Assad’s regime. In July, the country’s defence minister and Assad’s brother-in-law Assef Shawkat were killed by a bomb.

Al-Khalidi was shot in the Rukn al-Din district of the capital city of Damascus.   

The shooting comes as Syrian warplanes continue to bomb rebel targets in Damascus and the surrounding region.

As the conflict between government forces and the Free Syrian Army intensifies, the attempts by the UN to impose a four-day truce over the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha have been widely acknowledged as a failure.