Jordan Air Force Captain Turned Jihadist Killed in Syria

A Jordanian air force captain who joined jihadists in Syria to fight against President Bashar Assad's forces was killed in battle on Tuesday, a Salafist source said.

Ahmad Atallah Shbeib al-Majali reportedly deserted to fight alongside Al-Nusra Front, the Syrian franchise of Al-Qaeda, before joining the extremist Islamic State group.

"He was martyred Tuesday" in Hasakeh, northeastern Syria, said the source, who declined to be identified.

"His family announced his death and will be receiving congratulations at their home in Karak," southern Jordan, the source added.

He also said that another Jordanian jihadist was also killed in Syria the same day.

In July 2013, Majali's family told Agence France Presse that the air force captain took leave from his unit and traveled to Syria via Turkey to join rebels fighting to oust the regime.

Jordanian Salafists have said there were more than 500 jihadists from the country in Syria.

On Tuesday, a monitoring group said the Islamist State has more than 50,000 fighters in Syria and had recruited 6,000 last month alone.

"The number of IS fighters has passed 50,000 in Syria, including 20,000 non-Syrians," said Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The report could not be independently confirmed.