Assassinated Syrian General Was Assad's Top Military Man

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Special Report for NP

Gen. Muhammad Suleiman who was one of Syrian President Bashar Assad's personal insider on military affairs, was assassinated by a sniper early Saturday, August 2, in a small Syrian city of Tartous, according to Israel's DEBKAfile intelligence analysis website.

Brigadier General Mohammad Suleiman, 49, a close confidant of al-Assad is said to have been shot by the sniper in seaside villa in Tartous. Syrian news agencies have downplayed the assassination while giving much of its coverage to Assad's controversial state visit to Iran. Assad is meeting with Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad despite the international condemnation for Iran's nuclear ambitions. President Assad had not yet spoken out publicly about Suleiman's death while on his two-day trip to Iran.

Suleiman was Assad's main go-to man for country's military affairs. He was the President's private channel of communication with Iranian military and intelligence chiefs, the website discloses. According to DEBKAfile internal sources, he played a major role of consigning components for the plutonium reactor in Northern Syria which was destroyed by an Israeli military in September 2007.

Little was known about General Suleiman before his death but several important facts are coming to light about his involvement with Lebanon's terrorist group Hezbollah. DEBKAfile reports that Suleiman was Assad's mouthpiece with Hezbollah's leaders, an assertion which clearly exposes Syria's involvement in helping terrorist organizations in the Middle East. The most compelling piece of evidence DEBKAfile reveals is that Suleiman worked directly with Imad Mughniyeh, head of Hezbollah’s security, who was killed in Damascus last February.

Suleiman was scheduled to accompany President Assad on his visit to Iran, Saturday.

 As of late Sunday, the Syrian government has not yet publically addressed the assassination or provided any information about its investigation of the case.

Several high-ranking Syrian military officials attended Suleiman's funeral at his home village of Driekesh where he is buried.

Additional Sources: Reuters