According to a document stolen from the US National Security Agency later released by former collaborator Edward Snowden it would have leaked the news that in the 2008 a team of Israeli navy commandos belonging to the Shayetet 13 (Flottiglia 13) would infiltrate the waters near Tartus, in Syria, to reach and eliminate Syrian Brigadier General Muhammad Suleiman during a gala dinner that was taking place in his villa on the sea.Suleiman would have been hit by several blows to the head and neck and, if the killing was confirmed, we could end seven years of speculation about his death.
Both the NSA and the Pentagon have maintained silence regarding the incident, but The Intercept, the website created by the American journalist Glenn Greenwald, reports that the United States has had for some time an "open window" on the moves of Israeli espionage .
"We have had access to Israeli military communications for some time," said former CIA employee E. Snowden. The information stolen would confirm this, but would also show that in the NSA's internal encyclopedic information system, Intellipedia, there is nothing about the assassination that directly reports to "Israeli navalcommandos", despite previous news showing that being aware of the activities past: this could be considered the "first known example in which Israel aims at a legitimate government official".
Brigadier General - a close associate of Syrian President Bashar Assad - had multiple reasons for being targeted by Israel. Suleiman had been identified as responsible for the development and security of Ali Kibar's Syrian nuclear power plant, but the most likely reason for its elimination is the role played by the general in the arming and training of Hezbollah by Iran.
According to another leaked document - this time from the US State Department - Suleiman was found in possession of a large sum of money whose origin is unknown. In the investigation after his death, the Syrian government uncovered US $ 80 million hidden in his home. Assad was described as "shocked" by the discovery.
The Syrian president, distrusting any conjecture attributable to a possible betrayal by Suleiman, then directed the investigation to find out how the general had managed to acquire all that money.
It remains unclear whether Suleiman stole that money for personal use, or whether it was linked to Tehran's funding of the Lebanese Shiite militia. Statements by Hezbollah's party secretary general, Hassan Nasrallah, have revealed the general's importance in helping their cause.
The assassination therefore remains "connected" to the role played by Suleiman during the second Lebanese war in the 2006 between Hezbollah and Israel.
David Bartoccini
