Syria blames Israel for assassination of top scientist

Syria has pointed the finger at Israel as being behind the assassination of Dr. Aziz Asbar, a senior Syrian scientist who was killed in a car bomb on Saturday night in Homs province.

Syria’s Arabic-language al-Watan newspaper said that Israel’s Mossad secret service agency was behind Asbar’s assassination, which also killed his driver.

Israel, which does not respond to foreign reports, had no comment on the assassination. But Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman downplayed the possibility of Israeli involvement, telling Channel 2 news that “Every day in the Middle East there are hundreds of explosions and settling of scores. Every time they try to place the blame on us. So we won’t take this too seriously.”

Despite Syria blaming Israel, Syrian opposition accused the regime of staging the attack against Asbar and a Syrian rebel group affiliated to Tahrir al-Sham claimed the assassination.

The group, Abu Amara Brigades released a statement on their Telegram channel that they had “planted explosive devices” which detonated and killed Asber.

Asbar was one of the directors of the Syrian Scientific Studies and Research Center in Masyaf, near the city of Hama.

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based activist group, Asbar was close to Syrian President Bashar Assad and to Iran which is believed to have a presence at the Center.

He is believed to have been in charge of managing Hezbollah warehouses and headed Department 4 at the Center which focuses on the development of all of Syria’s ballistic missile and rocket programs and was reportedly involved the development of medium and long range missiles such Tishreen and Maysaloun missiles with Iranian experts.

Asbar also headed Institute 4000 which has several chemical weapons programs.

According to Western officials he was involved in the manufacturing of chemical weapons such as Sarin gas at the center despite Syria agreeing to dismantle its large chemical weapons stockpiles in 2013.

Israeli officials have raised their concerns in the past about the transfer of advanced weaponry from Iran to Hezbollah and is reported to have struck the Syrian Scientific Studies and Research Center several times, most recently on July 22nd when Arab media reported that Israeli jets hit the one of the center’s arms production sites.

Israel is also believed to have struck the presumed base of the Syrian Army’s secretive Unit 450, a branch of the Center which works on the Assad regime’s chemical weapons program. Western intelligence agencies and Syrian opposition figures alleged that Unit 450 had been dispersing chemical weapons stockpiles around the country as well as to Hezbollah.

Source: Syria blames Israel for assassination of top scientist – Arab-Israeli Conflict – Jerusalem Post