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Syrian Border Security Officer Assassinated in Daraa

A photo circulated on social media shows the scene of the assassination of the Syrian security officer. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
A photo circulated on social media shows the scene of the assassination of the Syrian security officer. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Syrian Border Security Officer Assassinated in Daraa

A photo circulated on social media shows the scene of the assassination of the Syrian security officer. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
A photo circulated on social media shows the scene of the assassination of the Syrian security officer. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Syria’s southwestern Daraa continues to witness horrific assassinations and security instability despite the province being subject to settlements dating back to 2018.

Over the last two days, seven killings were reported in Daraa. Civilians, former opposition members and Syrian regime officers were killed in the wave of assassinations.

According to local sources, the perpetrators remain unknown.

“Unidentified individuals opened fire against the car of Maj.Maher Wassouf on Sunday evening,” Horan Free Media Spokesperson Ayman Abu Noqta told Asharq Al-Awsat.

Noqta revealed that Wassouf was the primary security officer responsible for the Nassib border crossing with Jordan.

The gunmen had fired at Wassouf’s vehicle as it was driving on the Damascus - Daraa international highway near the bridge of Sidon town in the eastern countryside of Daraa.

Also, two regime officers were killed and the third was wounded on Sunday morning at a military checkpoint located between the towns of Ain Dhikr - Tasil in the Yarmouk Basin area, west of Daraa.

The two assassinated officers belong to the Fifth Brigade, which deployed in the area to replace the Fourth Brigade after a settlement deal was signed between the governorate and Damascus in 2021.

Last Monday, former opposition member Fadi al-Lubni was also killed by an explosive device planted in his car.

He was killed in the town of Nafaa in the Yarmouk Basin area.

On Sunday evening, unknown persons killed a member of the Eighth Division of the regime’s Fifth Brigade.

Bahjat al-Mahamid, also known as Abu Jarrah, was killed when assailants shot him dead in front of his house in the town of Al-Naima in the eastern countryside of Daraa.

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Arab World

Flash Floods Kill Five in Syria

A displaced Syrian girl sweeps rainwater from the floor of her family's tent following a rainstorm at the al-Talae displacement camp in Hasakah, northeastern Syria, on October 29, 2026 [Baderkhan Ahmad/AP Photo]
A displaced Syrian girl sweeps rainwater from the floor of her family's tent following a rainstorm at the al-Talae displacement camp in Hasakah, northeastern Syria, on October 29, 2026 [Baderkhan Ahmad/AP Photo]
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Flash Floods Kill Five in Syria

A displaced Syrian girl sweeps rainwater from the floor of her family's tent following a rainstorm at the al-Talae displacement camp in Hasakah, northeastern Syria, on October 29, 2026 [Baderkhan Ahmad/AP Photo]
A displaced Syrian girl sweeps rainwater from the floor of her family's tent following a rainstorm at the al-Talae displacement camp in Hasakah, northeastern Syria, on October 29, 2026 [Baderkhan Ahmad/AP Photo]

Flash flooding and heavy rains in northern and eastern Syria killed five people, including four children, authorities said Thursday.

Four children died by drowning in the governorates of Raqqa and Deir ez-Zor, the ministry of emergency and disaster management said in a statement.

Another man died in an accident at a bridge in Raqqa.

State news agency SANA said the heavy downpours and subsequent flooding caused a bridge to collapse in Raqqa, closing a road linking the region to neighboring Aleppo.

Five more people are missing in the storms that have been drenching the country since Wednesday, according to the ministry.

Areas across northern and eastern Syria have seen heavy rainfall and strong winds, inundating homes, displacing residents and closing roads, according to local authorities and official media.

Climate change has led to a drop in rainfall in Syria, while remaining downpours are intense, sporadic and less predictable, according to experts.

Arab World

Syrian Sentenced to 42 Months in US Prison for Pro-Assad Hacking

Reports indicated the images came from hacking attacks targeting social media accounts, as well as cases of online enticement (Reuters).
Reports indicated the images came from hacking attacks targeting social media accounts, as well as cases of online enticement (Reuters).
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Syrian Sentenced to 42 Months in US Prison for Pro-Assad Hacking

Reports indicated the images came from hacking attacks targeting social media accounts, as well as cases of online enticement (Reuters).
Reports indicated the images came from hacking attacks targeting social media accounts, as well as cases of online enticement (Reuters).

A Syrian man was sentenced to 42 months in prison on Thursday for his role in computer hacking on behalf of the regime of former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, the US Justice Department said.

Ahmad Umar Agha, 32, and co-conspirators hacked Western media outlets, businesses, non-governmental organizations and US and allied government entities "to spread the former Syrian government's propaganda," the department said in a statement.

The hacking group known as the Syrian Electronic Army was led by members of Assad's inner circle, it said.

"Agha deployed his hacking skills in the service of Assad's regime to silence reporting on the regime's atrocities, intimidate its opponents, and incite US servicemembers to refuse their orders," Assistant Attorney General John Eisenberg said.

The group's most notorious hack was of a US new agency's Twitter account, resulting in a false 2013 tweet saying then-president Barack Obama had been injured after two blasts at the White House, said AFP.

"Agha's actions caused a flash crash in the US stock market, resulting in a temporary $136 billion loss in the value of stocks making up the Dow Jones Industrial Average," the Justice Department said.

Agha, also known as Th3Pro, was indicted along with an alleged co-conspirator, Firas Dardar, who remains a fugitive.

A third Syrian charged in the case, Peter Romar, was extradited to the United States and pleaded guilty in September 2016 to hacking charges.

Arab World

Dodging Fuel Price Hikes, Damascus Drivers Turn to Electric Cars

Ahmed Al-Lahham, a driver for ride-hailing application "Yalla Go!", charges his plug-in hybrid vehicle (PHEV) in Damascus. LOUAI BESHARA / AFP
Ahmed Al-Lahham, a driver for ride-hailing application "Yalla Go!", charges his plug-in hybrid vehicle (PHEV) in Damascus. LOUAI BESHARA / AFP
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Dodging Fuel Price Hikes, Damascus Drivers Turn to Electric Cars

Ahmed Al-Lahham, a driver for ride-hailing application "Yalla Go!", charges his plug-in hybrid vehicle (PHEV) in Damascus. LOUAI BESHARA / AFP
Ahmed Al-Lahham, a driver for ride-hailing application "Yalla Go!", charges his plug-in hybrid vehicle (PHEV) in Damascus. LOUAI BESHARA / AFP

Taxi driver Mohammed Kanaan drives his shiny new electric car around Damascus's rundown streets, hoping for higher profits as spiking petrol prices made his old car too expensive to run.

He is among some in the Syrian capital who are steering towards electric cars -- mostly Chinese-made -- after repeated fuel shortages during the country's civil war and petrol price hikes, most recently due to the Middle East war.

"I used to have a car that ran on petrol but lately fuel quality has been low and prices have gone up," said Kanaan, 42, who had barely been covering his operating costs.

"In the end, I decided to buy an electric car and set up a charging point," he told AFP.

Before the overthrow of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad nearly two years ago, it was rare to see modern cars in Damascus, particularly after civil war erupted in 2011.

The economy tanked, and imports of new vehicles screeched to a halt due to Western sanctions, which have largely been lifted since the new authorities took power.

When the new authorities came to power and reduced tariffs, some 100,000 cars were imported, before they halted imports of used cars due to concerns over quality.

Not all Syrians can afford to make the switch to electric, with the percentage remaining negligible as most still live in poverty.