Syrian rebel group names successor after leader slain

DAMASCUS, Syria, Dec. 26 (UPI) -- The Syrian rebel group Army of Islam named Essam al-Buwaydhani the new leader following the death of commander Zahroun Alloush during an airstrike in Damascus.

Field commander Essam al-Buwaydhani, also known as Abu Hammam, was named as commander of the Jaysh al-Islam group. The rebel faction is one of the most powerful fighting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

"We are moving forward on the path, and we do not change or alter," a spokesperson for Jaysh al-Islam said in a video following the airstrike. It was also stated that the death of Alloush and other commanders during the strike "will only increase our fight."

The air strike, allegedly carried out by a mix of Syrian and Russian forces, occurred after a United Nations resolution encouraging peace in Syria.

Citing the airstrike that killed Alloush, officials have delayed the evacuation of the Yarmouk refugee camp due to security concerns.

Under an agreement between rebels and the Assad government, militants and their families were to be moved to areas under control of their respective groups. Eighteen buses arrived at the camp Friday to take members of the Islamic State and the rival group al-Nusra Front to Raqqa and Idlib.

Lebanese Hezbollah al-Manar TV reported Friday the plan was held up because the buses would have had to pass through the area where the airstrike occurred.

The BBC reported about 18,000 civilians have been trapped in Yarmouk due to the fighting since 2012.