The Syrian authorities have confirmed the death of a former army commander who exercised his command during the regime of Bashar al Assad, during a shooting recorded in an operation developed in the western province of Tartus, whose objective was to arrest him for his alleged involvement in attacks against the new government forces.
The Internal Security Forces detailed that the man, identified as Firas Abdulkarim Hamud, lost his life on Sunday in a crossfire after being located in the city of Safita, situated near the provincial capital, Tartus. No possible casualties among the deployed agents have been reported, according to information released by the Syrian state news agency, SANA.
According to the same sources, Hamud, known as "Al Jal" ("The Uncle"), was involved in attacks against the security forces created after the fall of the Al Assad regime in December 2024, at which point he fled to Russia in the face of the rapid advance towards Damascus of jihadists and rebel groups led by Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS), led by the current Syrian president, Ahmed al Shara.
Hamud became commander of the special forces of the 25th Division of the Syrian army and, after the collapse of the regime, continued to act under the orders of former General Giaz Dalá - who in 2025 made public the creation of a "Military Council for the Liberation of Syria" - to coordinate the activities of 'Assadist' groups in the coastal strip of the country, an area where the former president maintained his main strongholds.
The new authorities have arrested dozens of former high-ranking officials from the security services and the army, and have initiated judicial processes against several of them for their alleged responsibility in crimes committed during the Al Assad regime, particularly in the context of the civil war triggered in 2011 after the repression of pro-democracy protests that arose in the wake of the so-called "Arab Spring".