DHAKA: A cousin of Syrian president Bashar Al Assad was killed on Sunday in battles with Islamist rebels near the border with Turkey, activists and state media said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Hilal Al Assad, local head of the National Defence Force militia, and seven of his fighters were killed in clashes with the Nusra Front and other Islamist brigades.

State television confirmed his death, describing him as the head of the National Defence Force in the coastal province of Latakia, where the Al Assad family originates, gulfnews.com publishes this report on Monday.

BDST: 1852 HRS, MAR 24, 2014