There have been conflicting reports on the murder of the head of the Syrian Scientific Studies and Research Center in Masyaf, Aziz Asbar, who is known for being close to Iran.
Syria’s opposition considers Asbar responsible for the development of barrel bombs, which regime forces have dropped on civilians in the past years.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirmed that Asbar had been killed and said it was not yet clear which side "carried out the assassination of one of the figures close to the leaders of Iran, the Lebanese ‘Hezbollah’, and the Syrian regime.”
The Observatory said the Syrian scientist was killed along with his driver in a booby-trapped vehicle blast in Masyaf area in the western countryside of Hama on Saturday night.
While Iranian media outlets accused Israel of orchestrating the attack, Syrian official news agencies did not publish any information about Asbar’s killing.
Syrian pro-government newspaper Al-Watan published a brief report confirming that Asbar "died with is driver after an explosion targeted their car in the Hama countryside."
Israeli news agencies said Asbar was involved in Syria's chemical weapons development as well as in the Iranian Fateh missiles program, and that he worked on the development of medium- and long-range missiles.
Asbar was responsible for the Inter Coordination Committee on the transport of weapons between Syria, Iran and ‘Hezbollah’. He also supervised the production of non-traditional weapons at the Syrian Scientific Studies and Research Center in Masyaf, including nerve gas.
The official radio in Tel Aviv said the name of Asbar had emerged during the past years on the US sanctions lists for his responsibility in “developing and producing Iranian long-range missiles.”
Meanwhile, ISIS executed a teen kidnapped during the attacks on Suweida and its eastern and northeastern countryside last month.
The Observatory said the terrorist group executed a 19-year-old boy from al-Shabaki village, who was among more than 30 children, teenagers, and women abducted by ISIS during its attacks on the area.
The execution led to fears on the possibility that the terrorist group would kill other hostages in the coming days.
