Muhammad Suleiman
| Muhammad Suleiman محمد سليمان |
|
|---|---|
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1959 |
| Died | 1 August 2008 (aged 48-49) Tartus, Syria |
| Nationality | Syrian |
| Occupation | Security Adviser to the President |
| Military service | |
| Rank | General |
Muhammad Suleiman (Also Mohammad Sulayman) (Arabic: محمد سليمان) (1959 – 1 August 2008) was a general and Special Presidential Advisor for Arms Procurement and Strategic Weapons to Syrian president Bashar Al-Assad.
He was assassinated in his home in Syria on August 1, 2008.
Suleiman was born in 1959 to an Alawite family.
Suleiman had been a key aide to Bashar even before he assumed office, from the time he appeared as heir to succeed his father, Hafez al-Assad, as president.
He was also in charge of sensitive areas such as handling relations with the IAEA regarding the suspect Al Kibar facility, handled intelligence affairs for the president and was reportedly also in charge of arms transfers from Syria to Hizballah in neighboring Lebanon.
It was reported by Iranian media that Suleiman was shot by a silenced weapon in the head and neck on a beach at al Rimal al Zahabiyeh resort near Tartous on 1 August 2008. According to the As-Safir newspaper, arrested Mossad spy Ali Jarrah "testified to have scouted 'certain points' in the coastal town of Tartous in northern Syria," where Suleiman was assassinated.The Sunday Times reported that Suleiman was assassinated by Israel.
Some reporters speculated that Suleiman had been killed at close range.
A cable released by revealed that France told the U.S. that Suleiman was probably killed as a result of rivalry within the Syrian government. Maher al-Assad, brother of the Syrian president, was likely to have ordered the killing. Furthermore, France said that Suleiman was not killed by a sniper, but in fact gunned down in his car.
In a 2009 article regarding the destruction of Al Kibar, Der Spiegel gives a detailed description of Suleiman's murder as having taken place by rifle shots from a passing yacht and implies that it was linked to his involvement in Al Kibar and his upcoming visit to Tehran.
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