ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Syrian authorities have arrested an internal security officer accused of killing four civilians and seriously wounding a fifth in Suwayda province, state media reported on Sunday.
According to Syria’s state news agency, SANA, the incident took place on Saturday in the al-Mutuna area in the countryside of Suwayda, a Druze-majority province in southern Syria. Security officials said four civilians were killed and another was critically injured.
Hussam al-Tahan, commander of internal security forces in Suwayda, said preliminary investigations, aided by one of the survivors of the attack, pointed to a member of the local internal security directorate. “The individual was immediately detained and referred for investigation to complete legal procedures,” SANA cited him as saying.
Tahan described the attack as a “cowardly criminal act” and emphasized the authority’s commitment to holding anyone responsible accountable.
For his part, Suwayda Governor Mustafa al-Bakkour said in a statement on Sunday that the arrest of the suspect “sends a clear message: no one shall be shielded, and there is no immunity for anyone who spills the blood of citizens.”
Bakkour said the legal process would “serve as a deterrent to anyone who dares to compromise the security of the province and the peace of its inhabitants.