Mohamed Suleiman in charge of the Syrian nuclear program assassinated

Mohammed Suleiman, a top military aide to Syrian President Bashar Assad whom Israel believes was in charge of arms transfers from Syria to Hezbollah, was killed by sniper fire last Friday, according to reports that appeared yesterday in the Arab press and on web sites affiliated with the Syrian opposition.

Israel yesterday declined to either confirm or deny any connection with Suleiman's assassination. Advertisement
This is the second time in the last two weeks that someone involved in arms smuggling to Hezbollah has been killed. Last week, Britain's Daily Telegraph reported that an Iranian Revolutionary Guard convoy that was ferrying arms to Hezbollah suffered an unexplained explosion that killed 15 people. Both Iran and Israel declined to comment on that incident.

Yesterday, the London-based Arabic daily Al-Hayat reported that an unnamed senior Syrian officer in a "sensitive position" had been killed. The Free Syria web site, affiliated with the Syrian opposition, said that Suleiman was killed in Tartus, in northern Syria. Yet another web site offered more details, saying he was shot in the head while staying at his seaside villa in Tartus; that report added that immediately after the shooting, Syrian troops raided the area and arrested several residents of neighboring villas.