18 Years Later, Israel Confirms Assassination of Assad’s Closest Adviser

An Israeli commando force made up of Shayetet 13 fighters assassinated Gen. Mohammed Suleiman, President Bashar Assad’s most senior adviser, on August 1, 2008, in the Syrian city of Tartus. The details were revealed today (Wednesday) with the publication of a book written by former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

In his book, the former prime minister wrote that Suleiman was "the driving force" behind the Syrian nuclear reactor bombed by the IDF in Deir ez-Zor. "On the day Suleiman was assassinated, our fighters, skilled snipers, emerged from the water," Olmert described. "He and his guests were sitting on the balcony, and under cover of darkness, the fighters moved to within 150 meters of the balcony from both sides and identified him with certainty. Although there were quite a few people on the beach, no one noticed them. When the order was given, three bullets were fired at Suleiman, striking the back of his neck — and his head fell backward. Immediately afterward, the fighters retreated to the waterline, making their way to the boat that picked them up."

For years, Israel did not comment on the incident. Assad’s Syrian regime also preferred to remain silent after Suleiman’s assassination. The only person who allowed himself to address it was Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah, who told reporters several months later that Israel was responsible for the assassination because of Suleiman’s role in the Second Lebanon War.

It should be noted that in 2015, The Intercept published U.S. intelligence documents stating that the Israeli Navy’s Shayetet 13 carried out the assassination. The website was founded as a platform for publishing revelations by whistleblower Edward Snowden. The document, from the U.S. National Security Agency, was leaked by a former NSA employee. The report at the time contradicted reports in Arab media claiming that Suleiman was murdered during an internal conflict in Syria.