Syrian officials including Maher Assad, the brother of the Syrian president and head of the Presidential Guard took part in the funeral of Syrian General Muhammad Suleiman, 49, yesterday whose killing on Saturday, the first known of its kind in Syria since the assassination of Lebanon's Hezbollah military commander Imad Mughnieh, has shocked the country. One news agency quoted an unnamed Lebanese army official as saying that Suleiman also had very close links with Imad Mughaniyeh, who was also mysteriously assassinated in February in Damascus.
Syria on Monday remained silent on the murder of Brigadier General Mohammed Suleiman, who was killed by a sniper Friday night. Suleiman was President Bashar Assad's right-hand man, yet no government or state news media have reported the killing, which has been covered by foreign and Arab news sources and Syrian exile media.
Israeli press reports suggested that Suleiman, who served as a military adviser to Syrian President Bashar Assad, was responsible for arms transfers from Syria to Hezbollah. According to the reports, Suleiman was thought to be in charge of overseeing both Iranian arms transfers to Hezbollah via Syria and shipments from Syria's own arms industry. He focused in particular on supplies of long-range rockets, including 220-millimeter rockets with a 70-kilometer range, the newspaper said.
A Syrian source told Asharq Al-Awsat, which is published in London, that "the Syrian regime is in a difficult and complicated situation." The source dismissed the speculation that intrigue in the Syrian leadership had led to Suleiman's murder. He said Suleiman, who was very close to Assad, was more influential than the defense minister and chief of staff.
Sky News reported on Monday that Israel denied any responsibility for the murder.
"To the best of my knowledge we didn't do it," an Israeli source told Sky News. "Look, it's outside the rules. Of course, assassinations take place, but to hit a general in his own country is close to an act of war and we just don't want a war with Syria. We are busy talking to them," the source said.