BEIRUT - A Belgian commander of al qaida-linked forces in Syria was killed in fierce clashes between rival rebel groups for the northern town of Saraqeb on Wednesday, activists said.
Supporters of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant however denied reports that the local Saraqeb "emir", known as Abu Baraa al-Jazairi, had been killed.
An array of Syrian rebel groups, including the large alliance known as the Islamic Front, have been trying to push out ISIL, a small but powerful affiliate of al Qaeda with a core of foreign fighters.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, rival rebels ambushed a convoy of ISIL fighters and killed Jazairi, who is believed to be a Belgian citizen of Algerian origin.
Belgium's foreign ministry said it was aware of the reports of Jazairi's death but could not confirm them.
More than a week of internecine clashes has killed hundreds of rebels, in one of the bloodiest episodes of infighting since the nearly three-year-old uprising began.