Syria detains five former Assad air force leaders for civilian bombings

Syrian security agencies announced the capture of five high-ranking former air force officers who served under Bashar Assad, alleging their involvement in lethal air attacks on civilian targets. Colonel Abdul Aal Mohammad Abdul Aal, who heads Internal Security in Tartous, said the operation involved specialized units cooperating with the Anti-Terrorism Directorate. The men identified are Maj. Gen. Mohammad Fajr Ali, Brig.

Gen. pilot Abdullah Ali Mualla, Colonel pilot Nidal Hussein Saleh, Colonel Mohammad Ali Salim and Lt. Col. pilot Talib Abdul Karim Hassan. Investigators claim the officers planned, directed and carried out strikes that razed residential districts, forced mass displacement and caused extensive injuries and deaths. A similar sweep in Latakia earlier led to the arrest of nine pilots, according to Internal Security Commander Abdulaziz al-Ahmad. Such arrests are part of a pattern of the regime prosecuting alleged war crimes from the civil war that began in 2011.