Lt. Gen. Hussein Ishaq was wounded in fighting as rebels attacked a Syrian air defense base near the town of Mleiha, a suburb southeast of the capital, Damascus, according to an unnamed Syrian official who spoke to the AP news agency on condition of anonymity.

The general died of his wounds on Sunday, the official said.

The air defense administration has a large base in Mleiha and it has been a flashpoint in fighting between government and rebel forces over the last month.

The director of the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Rami Abdel Rahman called Ishaq's death an "important psychological blow" to the regime.

He added that "the regime's air defense force is to face a possible US attack, but in this war it is using its firepower against the rebels."

The Observatory bases its reports on a network of activists on the ground. It said Ishaq was killed in clashes with fighters from the Nusra Front - the al Qaeda affiliate in Syria - and other Islamic rebel groups.

The army is in full control of the capital but rebel fighters still hold a number of towns and villages on the outskirts.

More than 150,000 people have been killed in Syria since March 2011, and millions have been displaced by the violence.

In elections announced for June 3, President Bashar al-Assad is running for a third seven-year term against two virtual unknowns. The exiled opposition has dismissed the election as a "farce," while the United States has branded it a "parody of democracy."

The UN special envoy to Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, confirmed he is to step down from his post at the end of the month, just days ahead of the presidential elections.

jm/tj (AFP, AP, Reuters)