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On February 21, a notorious rebel commander from the southern Syrian governorate of Daraa who is wanted by Syrian authorities was assassinated.
The commander, Ismail Shukri al-Daraan, was in the town of Mlaiha el Sharqiah in the eastern Daraa countryside to attend a local football match when he was shot and killed by two unidentified gunmen on a motorcycle.
Al-Daraan led a small group of militants, who like him refused to join the reconciliation process or hand over their weapons. The group was reportedly behind several attacks that targeted Syrian government troops in Daraa over the last few years.
اغتال مسلحون مجهولون القيادي السابق في فصائل المعارضة “إسماعيل شكري الدرعان” عن طريق استهدافه بطلق ناري مباشر في بلدة المليحة الشرقية شرق درعا، ما أدى إلى مقتله على الفور. pic.twitter.com/Jx9nx6L8cV
— همام عيسى (@humam_isa) February 21, 2022
Several Syrian opposition activists believe that the Syrian intelligence was behind al-Daraan assassination. However, there is no evidence to back this accusation.
The hit on al-Daraan was a part of an assassination campaign targeting former rebel and radicals in Daraa. Previously, most attacks in the governorate targeted Syrian government troops.
The most recent assassination was on February 23. The target was Kamal Hamid al-Jaouni, a former commander of ISIS’s Khalid ibn al-Walid Army. Al-Jaouni was shot and killed by unidentified gunmen while he was traveling on Aabdyn-Baiyt Irah road in the western countryside of Daraa.
