Free Syrian Army
The UK's Cameron will meet with his defense minister Wednesday to discuss having a no-fly zone in Syria, meanwhile France may start arming Syrian rebels, pictured here. Reuters

A senior Syrian military official has been assassinated in the capital Damascus, state media reported.

Syrian Air Force Gen. Abdullah Mahmoud al-Khalidi was shot dead Monday evening, which the government has attributed to anti-government rebels.

"As part of their campaign to target national personalities and scientists, armed terrorist groups assassinated Air Force General Abdullah Mahmud al-Khalidi in the Damascus district of Rukn al-Din," a state media broadcaster reported, according to the BBC.

The rebel Syrian Army has claimed responsibility for the assassination, adding that it had also killed an air force intelligence officer in the attack, Agence France Presse reported.

The attack came on the last day of a failed cease-fire agreement between the Syrian military and opposition forces as violence continues to engulf the country in an ongoing conflict that began 19 months ago.

Khalidi’s death marks the most recent death of a top Syrian official since July, when rebels set off a bomb killing the defense minister and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s brother-in-law, Assef Shawkat.

RELATED STORIES