Jaish al Islam Group Denies Russia Hit Oil Stash

Syrian militant group Jaish al-Islam denied on Tuesday a report by the Russian defense ministry saying that its jets had destroyed a stash of oil products belonging to them in areas they control in the eastern suburbs of the Syrian capital.

The group is considered to be the most powerful opposing faction in the rural eastern suburban area of Damascus, and it has been a target of heavy Russian bombing since the beginning of Moscow’s major military campaign four months ago.

Furthermore, Jaish al-Islam leader Zahran Alloush is believed to be killed by Russian jets in a December raid that targeted the group’s headquarters, hitting the group’s control of the area considerably.

Jaish al-Islam denied the Russian report in an emailed statement received overnight.

The group opposes the ideologies of ISIS and al Qaeda, yet Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his ally Russia deems it to be a terrorist group.