Syrian security forces arrested at least 14 former operatives linked to former president Bashar Assad’s regime in Hama on Thursday, accusing them of involvement in massacres, torture, kidnappings of civilians and other abuses. In operations in Masyaf and southern Hama, forces detained seven people and seized weapons and ammunition, the state-owned Syrian Arab News Agency reported.
The arrests in Hama
Authorities separately named seven other people they apprehended. Among them was Shaheen Hamdan Al-Shaheen, founder of the Al-Shawaheen Regiment militia. Authorities say he helped establish armed militias after working with the Assad regime’s Air Force Intelligence Directorate in 2015 under Suheil Al-Hassan, a prominent military commander nicknamed “The Tiger.”
Al-Shaheen is accused of taking part in massacres in eastern Hama and along the Athriya-Raqqa road in 2017. Authorities also accuse him of leading groups responsible for killings, arbitrary arrests, torture and property destruction in Palmyra and Deir Ezzor between 2017 and 2019. These remain allegations. The Interior Ministry said investigations were continuing.
Al-Hassan commanded the regime’s Tiger Forces, a network of military units and allied militias that played a major role in government offensives during Syria’s civil war, including operations in Aleppo, Hama and eastern Syria. In December 2017, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights documented intense bombardment by government forces and their allies under his command in Hama and Idlib. The organization reported at least 41 civilians, including 11 children, killed in about four days.
Former intelligence-linked commanders
Thursday’s operations also led to the arrests of Nabil Adnan Ismail and Ghazi Mohammed Ismail, whom investigators identified as former commanders of armed groups affiliated with Air Force Intelligence. SANA reported that they’re accused of taking part in kidnappings, looting and massacres of civilians.
Authorities also detained Taher Youssef Al-Mohammed and his brother, Talal Youssef. They said the brothers served in Air Force Intelligence and the Scientific Studies and Research Center, and took part in repression, arbitrary arrests and extorting money from detainees’ families.
Authorities identified the other arrested men as Faisal Badour and Asef Salameh. Badour joined pro-regime militias operating in rural Hama and Aleppo in 2012, authorities said. They said his treatment of civilians earned him the name “Tiger’s Cub.” He remained active until the Assad regime collapsed in December 2024. Salameh reportedly served as a warrant officer in the former regime’s defense factories until 2018.
Investigations and accountability
The Interior Ministry said investigations were continuing and that authorities would refer the suspects to the appropriate courts once legal procedures were complete. Syria’s new authorities are pursuing former regime officials and militia members suspected of abuses during the civil war, as part of efforts to hold them accountable.
The conflict began in 2011 and ended with the fall of Assad and his regime. UN investigators and human rights organizations accused Assad government security and intelligence agencies of widespread arbitrary detention, torture, enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings during the conflict. The accusations against those arrested include acts attributed to former intelligence-linked armed groups and militia members. The ministry hasn’t said when investigations will finish or when the suspects will appear in court.