Prominent Former Rebel Commander Adham al-Akrad has been assassinated in the northern countryside of Daraa.
Al-Akrad was heading on October 14 to the capital, Damascus, to attend a meeting with senior security officials when his car was intercepted near the town of Mothbeen by unknown gunmen in a van.
The gunmen targeted al-Akarad’s car with machine guns and hand grenades. Al-Krad and four other people, including Ahmad Faisal al-Mahamid a former commander of the so-called “Ahfad al-Rasul” faction, were killed on the spot.
Al-Akrad’s car after the attack.
Al-Akrad was the founder and leader of the Engineering and Rocket Regiment, which was one of the biggest armed groups in southern Syria. Under his command, the regiment played a key role in all the battles against government forces in Daraa in 2017 and 2018.
Adham al-Akrad, also known as “Abu Qusi Suarikh”
Following the Syrian Arab Army 2018 Daraa operation, al-Akrad surrendered and joined the reconciliation process along with most of his fighters.
In September of 2019, an improves explosive device ripped through al-Akrad’s car in Daraa city. However, he survived the assassination attempt without sustaining any injures.
Al-Akrad’s car following the 2019 assassination attempt
In post-reconciliation Daraa, al-Akrad organized several anti-government protests and took part in a series of talks with the government over the situation in the governorate.
According to the Horan Free League, in his last planned meeting in Damascus al-Akrad was supposed to discuss the recovery of the bodies of local fighters who were killed in a failed attack on a Syrian military base in Daraa in 2016.
The Syrian intelligence, mainly the Military Intelligence Directorate, was accused of assassinating al-Akrad and his comrades. There is no evidence to support these accusations.
While al-Akrad was mourned by Daraa locals, his death was celebrated by the radicals, including the supporters of al-Qaeda-affiliated Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham. The assassination will lead to more tension in Daraa.
