Head of FSA reportedly loses leg in car bomb

March 25, 2013

Col. Riad Asaad was reportedly injured in a car bomb that detonated in Deir a-Zor on Monday and is believed to have lost a leg.

The Free Syrian Army’s Eastern Front blamed the regime for “a low attempt to target Colonel Riad Asaad by planting an explosive in his car, as he made a tour through Deir E-Zor.”

Asaad is in stable condition after losing a leg in the blast, the statement said, adding that he is being treated outside Syria.

The targeting of Asaad comes just days after he endorsed Jabhat a-Nusra (see SAS News translation of the video statement here.)

“Jabhat a-Nusra are serious fighters,” Asaad said. “They don’t take orders from other states or submit to anyone.”