{"id":137264,"date":"2026-04-29T19:37:19","date_gmt":"2026-04-29T19:37:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/?p=137264"},"modified":"2026-04-29T19:37:21","modified_gmt":"2026-04-29T19:37:21","slug":"syria-arrests-former-officer-linked-to-ghouta-chemical-attack","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/137264\/","title":{"rendered":"Syria arrests former officer linked to Ghouta chemical attack"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press)<\/strong> \u2013 Syrian Interior Minister Anas Khattab announced on Wednesday that counter-terrorism forces have arrested Major General Adnan Abboud Hilwa, a former senior officer accused of involvement in the 2013 chemical attack in Eastern Ghouta, near Damascus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Khattab said in a statement published on the platform X that Hlouh was \u201cone of the most prominent officials responsible for the chemical attack that targeted Eastern Ghouta in 2013.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The arrest was carried out by the Counter-Terrorism Directorate, according to the minister, who did not provide further details on the location or circumstances of the operation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The chemical attack on Eastern Ghouta in August 2013 resulted in the deaths of hundreds of civilians and drew widespread international condemnation. Various international organizations, including the United Nations, documented the use of chemical weapons in the attack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The announcement follows a separate operation last Friday, when the Syrian Interior Ministry said it had detained Amjad Youssef, described as the main suspect in the Tadamon neighborhood massacre. The arrest was conducted by internal security forces in the countryside of Hama.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Syrian authorities have in recent days highlighted these operations as part of ongoing efforts to pursue individuals accused of involvement in past violations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>By Atoun Jan<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) \u2013 Syrian Interior Minister Anas Khattab announced on Wednesday that counter-terrorism forces have arrested Major General Adnan Abboud Hilwa, a former senior officer accused of involvement in the 2013 chemical attack in Eastern Ghouta, near Damascus. Khattab said in a statement published on the platform X that Hlouh was \u201cone of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":137265,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pgc_sgb_lightbox_settings":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[39,7,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-137264","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-home","category-military-developments","category-syria"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Syria arrests former officer linked to Ghouta chemical attack<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) \u2013 Syrian Interior Minister Anas Khattab announced on Wednesday that counter-terrorism forces have arrested Major General\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, 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