5 militant commanders killed in Syria's Aleppo prison clashes

Clashes between Syrian army troops and Saudi-backed militants near a prison in Syria’s Aleppo have left at least five leading members of two militant groups dead. Aleppo’s central prison has been a major point of heavy conflicts, where the Syrian army has been trying to block militants, mainly from al-Nusra Front, Shaam al-Islam and Lewa al-Towhid, to take over the facility, Al-Alam reported. Syrian army could identify five commanders of al-Nusra and Lewa al-Towhid among those killed in latest clashes. The militant groups have been attacking the prison for months now, using almost every possible mean, from firing rockets to suicide bombings to push the army back. In October 2013, al-Qaeda affiliates sent 50 suicide bombers to attack the facility simultaneously. The armed groups in Aleppo are multi-national militants who are reported to receive financial and military support mainly from Saudi Arabia. Syria sank into war in March 2011, when pro-reform protests turned into a massive insurgency following the intervention of Western and regional states. The unrest, which took in terrorist groups from across Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, has transpired as one of the bloodiest conflicts in recent history.