Late on May 7, a high-ranking officer of the Syrian intelligence was assassinated by unknown assailants in the western Raqqa countryside.
Some sources said the officer, Lt. Col. Ahmed Mohamed, was shot and killed in the town of Dibsi ‘Afnan. Other sources claimed that an improvised explosive device (IED) struck the officer’s car on a road near the town.
Lt. Col. Ahmed Mohamed
Lt. Col. Mohamed was commanding a detachment of the Air Force Intelligence Directorate (AFID) in Dibsi ‘Afnan. The officer, originally from the town of Masyaf in Hama, participated in several battles against ISIS, including the battles of Kuweires and Menagh air bases.
No group has claimed responsibility for the assassination, yet. ISIS maintains a very small presence in southwestern Raqqa. However, it regularly launches attacks from there.
The assassination of Lt. Col. Mohamed could be the beginning of a wave of attacks on government forces in western Raqqa. Similar attacks have been taking place in the southern governorate of Daraa for a few months now.
mossad did it ?
lol Mustafa, I bet they would claim it’s us anyway xD
As always ?
It reminds me of what’s happening in Iran. Whenever a bad thing happens in Iran, the Supreme Dictator says that the “enemy” is to blame. Why deal with the real problems if the “Mosad” / “the enemy” can be blamed?
Damn, they keep falling dead.
This is a rare piece of news about the Syrian Airforce Intelligence for about a year now. There were ‘honesty’ issues with some of its units, if i remember correctly.
The problem with both the Military Intelligence and Air Force Intelligence branches are they’re way too loyal to Iran, they’re both Syrian branches of government and both should only be loyal to the Syrian government but they’re not. And both these branches make Russia’s job of calming down the tensions between the local Syrians and Iran a lot harder than they should be, if Russia says black they say white, if Russia says white they say black, so Russia can’t win with these wankers, sadly they just keep beating their heads up against a brick wall. [And on a side note many of their commanders have been accused of human rights abuses.]
But don’t get me wrong, the General Intelligence Directorate and the Political Security Directorate are ok, they do seem to be totally loyal to Syria and Assad, and they do cooperate with the Russians thankfully.
So he’s from the Air Force Intelligence Directorate, so what does that tell us, nothing really, what they really need to tell us is where did this guys loyalties lay, was it with Iran or was it with Syria, that would give us a clue as to who actually killed him, so unless we know that we can’t know who the possible suspects are. I suspect he’s actually pro Iranian due to the style of attack and the timing, which would mean the suspects could be local ex FSA Sunnis, one of the Druze militias, an opposition Arab militia from the Southern Front Alliance, a pro Russian militia, or maybe even the Russians themselves, gasp horror, why would I say that, I say it because most of the Air Force Intelligence guys hate Russia and do everything they can to oppose Russian interests and operations, and the Russian are getting sick and tired of it, and it wouldn’t be the first time either.
I appreciate your objective and realistic view of what is happening in Syria. I anticipate a growing controversy between Russia and Iran. A controversy that will further split Assad’s supporters. Already today there is an open criticism from some Assad loyalists against Russia. Something you couldn’t imagine a year ago.
Thanks, I do try to be objective and try not to take sides when stating facts, though I have noticed none of the pro Russian or pro Iran readers appreciate my comments, I’m definitely not winning any popularity contests on SF. The growing tensions between Russia and Iran have been going on for 2 years now, and at this late stage and due to current events, I think it’s getting close to a snapping point. The Russians want to end the war and start doing business again but Iran isn’t on the same page yet, they’re still sticking to their own selfish agenda no matter what. And it’s not actually the Assad loyalists criticising Russia, they’re actually pro Russian in most cases, it’s the pro Iranian members of Assad’s government and military that criticize Russia’s actions and agenda. I know Assad’s going to need a lot more than 3 divisions in Daraa if the fighting starts, and a lot of fire trucks too, the Southern front Alliance will burn all of Iran’s infrastructure to the ground if things get out of hand. Your team may not have to lift a finger to get rid of Iran [in Daraa] if things get any worse, I’m seriously expecting a bloodbath there if the Russians don’t intervene.
“I’m definitely not winning any popularity contests on SF. ” – LOL. I know the feeling.
As you understood, I also support the Russian position. “…I think it’s getting close to a snapping point. ” – One of the manifestations of this is the intensification of Israeli attacks against the Iranian forces, with the consent of the Russians.
“pro Iranian members of Assad’s government and military that criticize Russia’s actions and agenda.” – I agree . They echo Iran’s desire to continue the war in Syria.
Regarding the South, I am not sure the Southern front Alliance wants or can resume an allout war, and the Iranians are very stubborn.
I think very soon the Russians will force Assad to decide (As if he decides) whether he supports their position or the Iranian position. So there will be significant developments in Syria this summer.
I used to criticise Russia’s failure to protect Syrian assets from Israeli aggression and wonder why they wouldn’t help Assad. Then I found out Iran was usually the Israelis intended target, and also why it was being targeted. Then I began to find out just how different the Russian and Iranian agendas were for Syria. And then I started to think maybe the Russians don’t really care if Israel attacks Iran every now and again. Then I really started to notice the total conflict between the Russian and Iranian agendas in Syria, especially concerning Israel. And then I even began to wonder if Russia was actually helping Israel get rid of a few unwanted Iranian assets, give the Israelis info on the targets the Israelis want and then also add a few extra targets they want to get rid of too, get Israel to do their dirty work, possibly?
And the Southern Front Alliance is no longer an active alliance, I perhaps should’ve made that a bit clearer, but they’re not a spent force either, just not organized anymore. But they’re still 60,000 strong and well armed with lots of Arab League money to keep them well resupplied, and it wouldn’t take too much to reorganize the militias again, so Iran needs at least 60,000 of its 150,000 total force in Syria just to match them, I’d say good luck with that. And even though the Druze militias are pro Assad they’re also totally anti Iran and pro Israel, so there’s another 20,000 potential fighters to help the SFA, so now we’re up to 80,000 anti Iranian/Hezbollah fighters, and then add the ex FSA and HTS fighters and that’s at least 90,000 anti Iranian/Hezbollah fighters in total that Iran might have to contend with. Potential bloodbath I’d say.
Yes it’s all coming to a head very quickly now, hopefully common sense prevails and Assad chooses to follow the path that Russia is suggesting, sadly Assad doesn’t seem to want to peel himself away from the Iranian agenda, but current developments might make him change his mind though, at least I’m hoping they do, fingers crossed.
“…but current developments might make him change his mind though, at least I’m hoping they do, fingers crossed.” – actually, I don’t think the Russians will leave him any other choice. Keep safe.
BOLLOCKS!!!!!!!!
You’re one of the retards that knows absolutely nothing about the Syrian war, that’s obvious.