AMMAN – Syrian rebel groups have chosen Brigadier Selim Idris, a former officer in President Bashar Al-Assad's army, to head their new Islamist-dominated military command, opposition sources said Saturday. Idris, whose home province of Homs has been at the forefront of the Sunni Muslim-led uprising, was elected by 30 military and civilian members of the joint military command after talks attended by Western and Arab security officials in the Turkish city of Antalya. The joint command named commanders Abdelbasset Tawil from the northern province of Idlib and Abdelqader Saleh from the adjacent province of Aleppo to serve as Idris's deputies, the source said. It excludes the most senior officers who had defected from Assad's military. Absent from the group is Colonel Riad Al-Asaad. – Reuters
