Syria arrests 5 former Assad regime militia, intelligence members for crimes against civilians

Syrian security forces arrested five former militia and intelligence members affiliated with the ousted Bashar al-Assad regime for their involvement in massacres and serious crimes against civilians, the Interior Ministry said Thursday, Anadolu reports.

The ministry said internal security forces carried out intelligence-based operations that led to the arrests.

Among those arrested was Shahin Hamdan al-Shahin, one of the founders of the Shawaheen Regiment militia during the former regime.

Al-Shahin began working with the former regime’s Air Force Intelligence Directorate in 2015 under the command of Suheil al-Hassan before helping establish armed groups, according to the ministry.

It said he was directly involved in massacres against civilians, particularly in eastern Hama province and along the Ithriya-Raqqa road in 2017.

The ministry said he later commanded groups involved in killings, arrests, torture and destruction in Palmyra and areas extending to Deir ez-Zor province until 2019.

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In a separate operation, authorities arrested four former regime members for their involvement in massacres and serious violations against civilians.

The ministry identified two of them as Nabil Adnan Ismail and Ghazi Mohammed Ismail — group commanders within militias affiliated with the former regime’s Air Force Intelligence Directorate.

They were involved in kidnappings, looting and massacres, including direct participation in incidents in the village of Aqrab, as well as kidnapping civilians and extorting money from them, according to the ministry.

The other two suspects, brothers Taher Youssef al-Mohammed and Talal Youssef al-Mohammed, served with the Air Force Intelligence Directorate and the Scientific Studies and Research Center.

The ministry said the brothers were involved in repression and arrests and exploited their positions to access detainees’ files and extort their families.

Investigations into the five suspects are continuing before their referral to judicial authorities, it added.

The arrests come amid continuing security operations targeting former regime officials and military personnel involved in crimes committed during Syria’s nearly 14-year conflict.

On Sept. 18, Syrian authorities arrested five senior air force officers and commanders who served under Assad for their involvement in planning, directing and carrying out airstrikes on populated areas.

Since Assad’s overthrow on Dec. 8, 2024, Syria’s new administration has launched security operations targeting former regime figures and personnel implicated in abuses during the conflict.

Assad, who ruled Syria for nearly 25 years, fled to Russia after anti-regime forces captured Damascus, bringing decades of Baath Party rule to an end.

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