Hamas leader vows never to recognize Israel

Syrian rebels get new leadership in bid to unite

BEIRUT (AP) — Rebel commanders from across Syria have joined forces under a united command they hope will increase coordination between diverse fighting groups and streamline the pathway for arms essential to their struggle against President Bashar Assad.

While many of the brigades involved in the fighting are decidedly Islamist in outlook and some have boasted about executing captured soldiers, two of the most extreme groups fighting in Syria were not invited to the rebel meeting in Turkey or included in the new council — a move that could encourage Western support.

Disorganization has bedeviled Syria's rebel movement since its birth late last year, when some protesters gave up on peaceful means to bring down Assad's regime and took up arms, forming the base of what became the Free Syrian Army.

But the movement has never actually been an army. Scores of rebel groups battle Assad's forces across the country, many coordinating with no one outside of their own area. While some say they want a civil, democratic government, others advocate an Islamic state.

The new body, expected to be announced officially on Sunday, hopes to form the basis of a united rebel front.

Some 500 delegates elected the 30-person Supreme Military Council and a Chief of Staff on Friday and planned to meet soon with representatives from the opposition's newly reorganized political leadership, participants said.

"The aim of this meeting was to unify the armed opposition to bring down the regime," said a rebel commander from near Damascus who attended the meeting. "It also aims to get the situation under control once the regime falls."

The move toward greater unity on the armed front comes as the U.S. and others try to strengthen the opposition's leadership while sidelining extremist factions that have become a vital part of the rebels' ground forces.

The opposition's political leadership reorganized last month, under Western pressure, into a new National Alliance that its backers hope will have broader representation and stronger links to rebel fighters.

Britain, France, Turkey and several Gulf Arab nations have recognized the National Alliance, effectively considering it a government in exile.

The U.S. is expected to recognize it at an international "Friends of Syria" conference in Marakesh, Morocco, that begins Wednesday.

It remains unclear how the new military command will relate to the National Alliance and whether foreign powers will back it.

But two of Syria's most extreme rebel groups were not included: Jabhat al-Nusra, which has claimed deadly suicide bombings and is believed to be linked to al-Qaida, and Ahrar al-Sham, an Islamic fundamentalist brigade home to many foreign jihadis.

U.S. officials have said the Obama administration is preparing to designate Jabhat al-Nusra a terrorist organization.

Many of the participating groups have strong Islamist agendas, and some have fought in ways that could scare away Western backers. They include the Tawheed Brigade, whose ideology is similar to that of the Muslim Brotherhood, and the Falcons of Damascus, an ultraconservative Islamist group. Its leader, Ahmed Eissa al-Sheik, told The Associated Press earlier this year that his men had executed five captured government soldiers.

Elizabeth O'Bagy, who studies Syria's rebels for the Institute for the Study of War, said the new command included important on-the-ground commanders, which will give it more support from various rebel factions. The inclusion less extreme Islamist brigades will also give the body credibility.

"They are going to have a role in a future Syria and sidelining them will only fuel tensions," she said. Including them "shows that this command is representative of those on the ground, not just the ideal candidates for the West."

If the new command can lead effectively and supply badly needed weapons, it could attract fighters who joined hard-line groups because they were flush with arms but may not agree with their ideology, she said.

A rebel official said more than 500 delegates had been meeting since Wednesday in the Turkish resort of Antalya and were planning to announce their new group on Sunday.

The rebel commander from near Damascus said the group had chosen Brig. Gen. Salim Idriss, who defected from Assad's army, as its chief of staff. It also had divided Syria into five regions, each of which will be under one of Idriss' assistants.

The new structure diminishes the role of previous leaders in the Free Syrian Army. Brig. Gen. Mustafa al-Sheikh, who headed the FSA's Military Council, will play no rule in the new structure, the commander said. Riad al-Asaad, the head of the Free Syrian Army, will retain a symbolic post.

The official and commander spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the meeting before its conclusion.

The Syrian government did not comment on the new rebel command and throughout the uprising has considered the rebels terrorists backed by foreign powers that seek to destroy the country.

Assad's regime appears increasingly embattled, with rebels making gains in northern Syria and near Damascus while the U.S., Turkey and others seek to hasten its demise. U.S. officials have expressed fears that Assad could use chemical or biological weapons, and U.S. intelligence has reported new activities at sites housing Syria's chemical weapons.

The government tried to reverse the charge on Saturday, saying it had warned the United Nations that "terrorist groups" might use chemical weapons.

Syria's state news agency said the Foreign Ministry had sent letters to the U.N. Security Council and U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon saying that Syria would not use chemical weapons against its own people.

Syria has never confirmed it has chemical weapons, but outside experts believe it has substantial stockpiles of mustard gas and a range of nerve agents, including sarin, a highly toxic substance that can suffocate its victims by paralyzing their lungs.

No rebel groups are known to possess chemical weapons and it is unlikely their mostly amateur fighters would know how to use them.

Anti-regime activist say more than 40,000 people have been killed since Syria's uprising started in March 2011.

Police: Boy, 7, shot to death at Pa. gun store

MERCER, Pa. (AP) — A man's handgun went off while he was holding it as he got into his truck in the parking lot of a western Pennsylvania gun store Saturday, and the shot killed his 7-year-old son, authorities said.

Joseph V. Loughrey, 44, of Sharpsville, was getting into the truck when the 9 mm handgun discharged, wounding Craig Allen Loughrey in the chest, according to state police. The boy died at the scene at Twigs Reloading Den in East Lackawannock Township, 60 miles north of Pittsburgh.

Investigators said Loughrey told them he didn't realize there was a bullet still in the chamber. "This happens all too often where people think the gun was empty," Lt. Eric Hermick told The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.

Loughrey was trying to sell two guns at the store — one a scope rifle and the other, the handgun, state police said. The owners told Loughrey the store doesn't buy guns so Loughrey and his son returned to the truck with them. Loughrey put the boy in the passenger seat and loaded the rifle into the truck, state police said. He was attempting to get inside and reached to put the handgun in the center storage console when it fired, they said.

Loughrey was questioned by state police, who said he was cooperative and distraught. The shooting is being investigated as an accident, although Loughrey could face charges, including manslaughter and negligence, Hermick told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

"I know that little kid was everything to him," Mark McLaughlin of Fredonia, a friend and co-worker of Loughrey's at Superior Well Services in Fredonia, told the Tribune-Review.

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Hundreds of fishermen missing in Philippine storm

NEW BATAAN, Philippines (AP) — The number of people missing after a typhoon devastated parts of the southern Philippines jumped to nearly 900 after families and fishing companies reported losing contact with more than 300 fishermen at sea, officials said Sunday.

The fishermen from southern General Santos city and nearby Sarangani province left a few days before Typhoon Bopha hit themain southern island of Mindanao on Tuesday, triggering flash floods that killed more than 600, Civil Defense chief Benito Ramos said.

Ramos said the fishermen were headed to the Spratly Islands in theSouth China Sea and to the Pacific Ocean. He said there has been no contact from them for a week.

"We have declared them missing," he said. "Maybe they are still alive."

Ramos said they may have sought shelter on the many small islands in the Spratlys and the Celebes Sea, and lost battery power and have not been able to call.

He said the coast guard, navy and fishing vessels have launched a search.

After slamming into the southern Philippines, the typhoon moved out to sea but then veered back toward the country's northwest on Saturday, prompting worries of more devastation. As of late Sunday, however, it had begun to dissipate and weaken into a low pressure area as it moved farther into the South China Sea, about 105 kilometers (65 miles) west of the Philippines' Ilocos Norte province.

Rescuers continued searching for bodies or signs of life under tons of fallen trees and boulders in the worst-hit town of New Bataan, where rocks, mud and other rubble destroyed landmarks, making it doubly difficult to search places where houses once stood.

Hundreds of refugees, rescuers and aid workers took a break Sunday to watch the Manny Pacquiao-Juan Manuel Marquez fight on a big TV screen, only to be dismayed by their hero's sixth-round knockout.

Elementary school teacher Constancio Olivar said people fell silent when Pacquiao, who comes from the southern Philippines where the storm hit, fell heavily to the canvas and remained motionless for some time.

"It was like a double blow for me — this disaster and this defeat," said Olivar, whose house was destroyed in the storm. "We were all crestfallen. Everyone fell silent, stunned. It was like we saw a tsunami."

Nearly 400,000 people, mostly from Compostela Valley and nearby Davao Oriental province, have lost their homes and are crowded inside evacuation centers or staying with relatives.

President Benigno Aquino III declared a state of national calamity on Friday, which allows for price controls on basic commodities in typhoon-affected areas and the quick release of emergency funds.

Officials said Sunday that 316 people were killed in Compostela Valley, including 165 in New Bataan, and 301 in Davao Oriental. More than 45 people were killed elsewhere. Nearly 900 are missing, including the fishermen and 440 from New Bataan alone.

Davao Oriental authorities imposed a curfew there and ordered police to guard stores and shops to prevent looting.

The typhoon destroyed about 18 percent of the banana plantations in Mindanao, causing losses estimated at 12 billion pesos ($300 million), according to Stephen Antig, executive director of the Pilipino Banana Growers and Exporters Association.

The Philippines is the world's third-largest banana producer and exporter, supplying international brands such as Dole, Chiquita and Del Monte.

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