Syrian authorities Sunday an**unced the death in combat of a general near Damascus, while urging a mass tur**ut in the June 3 presidential election branded a "farce" by the opposition. general Hussein Isaac died of wounds suffered in fighting at Mleiha, a key battleground southeast of the capital, making him one of the few top-ranking ******rs whose deaths have been an**unced during Syria's three-year war. The air defence forces' headquarters is located in Mleiha, a key flashpoint in fighting around the capital. The air force has also been deployed in the regime's war against rebels seeking to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad, whose regime brands the uprising a foreign-backed "terrorist" plot.