The head of Syria’s air defenses was killed in a rebel offensive at a government air base, one of the only high-ranking military officers to die in the country’s 3-year-old civil war.  It’s a symbolic victory for the rebels, who’ve faced a series of setbacks and surrendered territory over the last year.

Lieutenant General Hussein Ishaq’s death is “very important for morale,” said military analyst Hisham Jaber, a retired brigadier general in the Lebanese military.  “The man was extremely senior.  He had the highest rank in the military.  The number of them – alive or dead – are extremely few.”

The air base is located near the town of Mleiha, which the rebels consider important because of its proximity to the capital Damascus.  Forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad have used it to launch missiles on the town, to try and flush out the rebels.

Despite the setbacks, the general’s death is not the only thing the rebels have going.  Last week, a daring plan to tunnel several hundred meters long under a government base and plant 60 tons of explosives succeeded.  The rebels had been trying to take the Wadi al-Deif base for a couple of years – one more hit like that and they won’t have to bother with it anymore.