17 dead in clashes over attempted arrest of al-Assad-era officer : Syria monitor

A Syria war monitor said 17 people were killed Wednesday in clashes in Tartus province after security forces sought to arrest an officer under deposed leader Bashar al-Assad who was linked to a notorious prison.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said “14 members of the General Security force” of Syria’s new authorities were killed, along with “three armed men” in Khirbet al-Maaza, raising an earlier toll of nine dead.

Forces had sought to arrest an officer who was among “those responsible for the crimes of the Saydnaya prison”, added the Observatory.

New Interior Minister Mohammed Abdel Rahman said in a statement that “14 interior ministry personnel were killed and 10 others wounded after… a treacherous ambush by remnants of the criminal regime” in Tartus province “while performing their tasks of maintaining security and safety”.

The Observatory said the wanted man was “an officer in the former regime forces who held the position of director of the military justice department and field court chief”, identifying him as Mohammed Kanjo Hassan.

It said he “issued death sentences and arbitrary judgements against thousands of prisoners”.