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Western-backed Syrian rebel commander fled the country after Islamist militant fighters ran him out of his headquarters, US officials said. Free Syrian Army Gen. Salim Idris flew to the Qatari capital of Doha Sunday after fleeing to Turkey. The Islamists also took over key warehouses holding US military gear for moderate fighters in northern Syria over the weekend, the Voice of Russia said.

"He fled as a result of the Islamic Front taking over his headquarters," a senior US official said.

The Islamic Front is a coalition of the largest Islamist rebel factions, excluding two top Al-Qaeda-associated groups, the Nusra Front and the Islamic State of Iraq in Syria. It is considered more moderate among Islamist militant groups.

A spokesman for the Islamic Front also confirmed that Gen. Idris had left Syria for Turkey.

On Friday, radical militants from the Islamic Front seized several premises containing non-lethal aid from the US. The aid belonged to the Supreme Military Council (SMC) of the Free Syrian Army at the Bab al-Hawa crossing near the Turkish border, Reuters reported.

The Islamists acting on their own accord gave no warnings and provided no explanation.

"As a result of this situation, the United States has suspended all further deliveries of non-lethal assistance into northern Syria," the US Embassy spokesman in Ankara said on Wednesday, stressing that humanitarian aid distributed through non-governmental organizations will not be impacted by the decision.

The growing strength of the Islamic Front prompted the US and its allies to recently hold direct talks with Islamic Front representatives. The goal, according to Western officials, was to persuade some Islamists to support a Syria peace conference set for Geneva on Jan. 22 for fear that a lasting accord won't be possible without their backing. The SMC already agreed to participate in the peace talks.

The officials said there was no battle over the warehouses between the Islamic Front and the SMC. One senior US official called the seizure "an internal coup," though other officials disputed the characterization.