Syria arrests five former air force officers who served under deposed leader Bashar al-Assad over alleged involvement in combat airstrikes that decimated civilian populations. Coastal security detachments carried out the coordinated arrests alongside the Counter Terrorism Directorate in Tartous province on Friday. The detentions follow a systematic review of military flight records and command logs compiled throughout the nation`s protracted civil war.
An air force general was among the senior personnel taken into custody.
Colonel Abdul Aal Mohammad Abdul Aal, director of Internal Security Forces in Tartous, announced that the suspects operated field command facilities and airbases to unleash sustained bombardment against populated urban centers. Investigators identified the detained officers as Major-General Mohammad Fajr Ali, Brigadier-General pilot Abdullah Ali Mualla, Colonel pilot Nidal Hussein Saleh, Colonel Mohammad Ali Salim, and Lieutenant-Colonel pilot Talib Abdul Karim Hassan. Official dossiers allege that each individual, according to designated ranks and administrative duties, participated directly in coordinating, directing, and executing airstrikes.
The offensive operations destroyed neighborhoods and displaced thousands of residents.
Security authorities emphasized that investigative processing remains underway prior to transferring the five officers to competent tribunals for formal prosecution. The legal push addresses a thirteen-year conflict that claimed more than half a million lives, during which municipal districts faced relentless aerial campaigns before the previous government collapsed in December 2024. The sweep marks the second major operation targeting aviators this month, following the arrest of nine former pilots in neighboring Latakia province.
Transitional courts have accelerated judicial proceedings against the fallen government`s inner circle.
In August, Syrian judicial panels issued death sentences in absentia for Bashar al-Assad, his brother Maher al-Assad, and five companion security leaders over systemic civilian atrocities. Assad fled Damascus as rebel forces consolidated authority across the capital, and intelligence reports indicate the deposed ruler remains in exile in Russia.
