Abu Tow: Meet the famed and feared Syrian rebel who wants to help the Ukrainians fight the Russians out

“What drives me to leave the Syrian front and go to Ukraine, is that the Russian regime is the enemy of the Syrian and Ukrainian people and the enemy of freedom, democracy and human rights,” Abu Tow says. 

Suheil Mahmoud Muhammad, known as Abu Tow to his friends and enemies, is a Syrian rebel and famed for his precise and deadly operation of the US-made anti-tank BGM-71 TOW missile, with which he has destroyed 146 Russian and Assad regime tanks, armoured vehicles and aircraft, and where he gets his nickname. 

"These tanks are committing massacres against my Ukrainian brothers and sisters, and when they are finished in Ukraine, they will continue to kill my Syrian brothers and sisters"

After seeing the shock invasion of Ukraine by Russian troops, the 34-year-old immediately offered his services to defend his ‘Ukrainian brothers and sisters’ against Russian tanks. 

“There is no difference between destroying Russian tanks and armoured vehicles, whether in Syria or Ukraine. These tanks are committing massacres against my Ukrainian brothers and sisters, and when they are finished in Ukraine, they will continue to kill my Syrian brothers and sisters,” he says. 

Russia began its military campaign in September 2015, in a bid to help its ally Bashar al-Assad; the current and much-maligned dictator of Syria, after he appealed to the Kremlin for help in fighting rebel groups. What started as strategic airstrikes on anti-government groups, developed into the permanent deployment of its troops to Syria in 2017. 

However, despite the fact Putin ordered his troops to ‘act as tough as possible’, Suheil has evaded their efforts: “I have fought Russians since the beginning of their fight alongside Assad against the Syrian people. I have also fought the Iranian, Afghan, Lebanese, Iraqi and international terrorist militias.” 

He has unfinished business and believes that if the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) or the West had taken on Russia in Syria, then Russian President Vladimir Putin would not have felt emboldened to expand westward into Ukraine.

“What is happening in Ukraine is because of Putin's arrogance, because the international community has remained silent about the Russian armed forces’ actions in Syria,” he says. 

“That’s why Putin thinks that he can expand westward towards NATO countries. If NATO had stopped Putin in Syria, he would not have dared to invade Ukraine.” 

Despite the hotly debated issue of a No-Fly Zone (NFZ) in Ukraine currently rejected by NATO, which would involve launching missiles to destroy Russian aircraft and spark fears of a World War III scenario, Suheil believes from a tactical perspective, that Russia’s power lies with its air force, and would he would support a ban on Russian aircraft in Ukrainian airspace. 

"What is happening in Ukraine is because of Putin's arrogance, because the international community has remained silent about the Russian armed forces’ actions in Syria"

“Russia's strength with its air force and ballistic missiles, without it, the Russian army is junk; its ground forces are weak in a direct confrontation,” he explains. 

His journey began as a volunteer in the Syrian regime army in the 46th Regiment of the Syrian special forces, where his main job was to combat anti-armour missiles.

Hailing from Idlib, he spent time in his birthplace of Aleppo, where he studied, and eventually defected to the rebel side. He says it was not easy at first, as he was smuggling arms and weaponry to the rebels to defend unarmed, protesting civilians, but then fully defected during his time in the Aleppo countryside. 

Suheil has survived an assassination attempt and undergone 11 operations for injuries obtained by his work. He says he has been shot several times, including five times in the same foot. 

“Since the beginning of the Syrian revolution until now, I have been injured eight times,” he recalls. “When I go to the front, I know that I could be martyred at any moment. But I know that I will be martyred for the sake of my country, my freedom, and the freedom of the Syrian people.”

He also says he managed to destroy a tank after he sustained injuries after it opened fire on him. “One time when I wanted to blow up a tank, it bombed and wounded me, but I managed, despite my injury, to blow up the tank.”

However, Suheil also considers himself a civilian. When he’s not out fighting the regime, he says he peacefully demonstrates alongside other civilians.

“Outside the front, I am a civilian. In my spare time, I play football and cards, meet my friends, and go to spend some time in the beautiful nature of Idlib and the Aleppo countryside.” 

His message to the Ukrainian people is clear: “As a combatant competent using all kinds of anti-armour weapons, I am capable of destroying any target my eyes see, and I promise the Ukrainian people, I will support them in their struggle for freedom as much as I can,” he says. 

Suheil is still looking for a way to join the Ukrainians in their fight against the Russian invasion, but his message to the Russians is clear: “I promise the Russian forces aggressing the Ukrainian people that I will not spare them, and I will make mountains of Russian tanks and armour, which I will destroy, as soon as I enter Ukraine.”

Amy Addison-Dunne is a writer with an interest in politics, the Middle East and human rights. Her work has appeared in publications such as Mirror Online, Al-Jazeera English, and Middle East Monitor. 

Follow her on Twitter: @redamylou