The head of Syria's Air Defence forces has been killed in fighting east of Damascus, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said on Sunday.

It said General Hussein Ishaq died of wounds suffered during a military offensive by President Bashar Al-Assad's forces against rebels in Mleiha suburb, where the Air Defence administration has a large base.

State media made no mention of Ishaq's reported death but pro-Assad Internet sites said he had been killed in Mleiha, which has seen heavy fighting for several days. - Reuters