BEIRUT: The Syrian rebel commander in central Homs province, Colonel Kassem Saadeddine, said in a video posted on Wednesday that he had escaped an assassination attempt by forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad.

“Thanks be to God, we have returned after having escaped from the hands of Assad's bands,” Saadeddine, also the spokesman for the Joint Command of the Free Syrian Army (FSA), said in the video posted overnight.

In a statement with the video, the FSA Joint Command said Saadeddine had been ambushed by pro-regime militia forces, known as “shabiha” by the opposition, in an assassination attempt.

It said the colonel's driver was lightly wounded in the attack, but no one among rebel forces was killed, and provided no further details.