Head of Pro-Iran Armed Faction Arrested in Syria, Says Monitor

Security forces detained Moayad Abdul Samad al-Douaihy in Deir Ezzor on Thursday. (AFP file)
Security forces detained Moayad Abdul Samad al-Douaihy in Deir Ezzor on Thursday. (AFP file)
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Head of Pro-Iran Armed Faction Arrested in Syria, Says Monitor

Security forces detained Moayad Abdul Samad al-Douaihy in Deir Ezzor on Thursday. (AFP file)
Security forces detained Moayad Abdul Samad al-Douaihy in Deir Ezzor on Thursday. (AFP file)

Security forces in Syria's eastern city of Deir Ezzor have arrested the head of an Iran-affiliated faction that fought alongside ousted President Bashar al-Assad's forces, a war monitor said Friday.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said security forces detained Moayad Abdul Samad al-Douaihy in Deir Ezzor on Thursday.

The Britain-based Observatory said Douaihy founded and led a faction known as the Sayyida Zeinab Brigade, affiliated with Iran's Revolutionary Guards.

That faction was active in the city of Al-Mayadeen, fighting alongside Assad's forces, said the Observatory which has a network of sources in Syria.

It added that Douaihy received Iranian citizenship after converting to the Shiite branch of Islam.

Douaihy was "involved in a long list of crimes including financial blackmail, drug smuggling, theft of civilians' properties and selling displaced people's land to naturalized Iranian and Afghan mercenaries", the Observatory said.

Security forces also arrested Major General Abdul Karim al-Muhaimid, the former political security chief in Deir Ezzor province under Assad, the monitor said.

Iran had mobilized about 20,000 fighters, mostly Syrians, in different factions to fight alongside Assad's forces.

Before Assad was toppled, much of Deir Ezzor province near the border with Iraq was a key stronghold of Iran-backed forces.

Some handed in their weapons after Assad's ouster in December, but others remain in hiding, according to the Observatory.

Since seizing power, Syria's new authorities have regularly announced the arrest of Assad-era security officials.



UN Says Israel’s Blockade of Gaza Causes Shortage of Maternal Health Supplies

Palestinian children wave white flags during an anti-Hamas protest, calling for an end to the war with Israel, in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip on March 26, 2025. (AFP)
Palestinian children wave white flags during an anti-Hamas protest, calling for an end to the war with Israel, in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip on March 26, 2025. (AFP)
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UN Says Israel’s Blockade of Gaza Causes Shortage of Maternal Health Supplies

Palestinian children wave white flags during an anti-Hamas protest, calling for an end to the war with Israel, in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip on March 26, 2025. (AFP)
Palestinian children wave white flags during an anti-Hamas protest, calling for an end to the war with Israel, in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip on March 26, 2025. (AFP)

The United Nations Population Fund said Israel’s ongoing aid blockade into Gaza is creating a critical shortage of maternal health supplies.

They include much needed drugs for pregnancy and to prevent deaths and complications during childbirth.

Since the beginning of the month, Israel has cut off the entry of all food and other goods into Gaza, and last week resumed bombardment as it tries to pressure Hamas to accept its demands to extend the January ceasefire.

UNFPA said its supplies are languishing at the border, including more than 50 ultrasounds to monitor fetal health, nine incubators and 350 midwifery kits to help during deliveries, impacting more than 15,000 women.

The group said pregnant women and newborns in Gaza are facing higher than normal rates of complications, driven by widespread malnutrition, which is being compounded by the aid blockade.

Since the blockade around 520 babies — one in five —have required advanced medical care that is increasingly scarce, it said.