Syrian regime officer killed in attack on Damascus checkpoint

An officer from the Syrian regime's military was killed on Wednesday following an attack on a government checkpoint in Damascus.

An unknown person driving a car opened fire on a military checkpoint belonging to the regime forces' 14^th division in the Qudsaya suburb of Damascus’ countryside, Syrian news outlet Voice of the Capital said.

This led to the death of Lieutenant Colonel Samer Ali Suleiman.

Following the attack, regime forces reportedly closed all roads leading to the Qudsaya suburb and conducted a thorough search of pedestrians.

Several random arrests were also made.

Unidentified gunmen also assassinated a leader of the regime’s military security in the country’s southern Daraa province, alongside an individual wanted by the regime.

Gunmen shot Ayman Rizk Al-Zaabi – who had lead a group affiliated with military security since 2018 - while he was in Daraa, media activist Abu Mohammed Al-Hourani told The New Arab's Arabic-language service.

Unidentified gunmen also assassinated Ahmed Ibrahim al-Rabdawi – an individual wanted by the regime during their siege of the city of Tafas in 2021.

Damascus and its surrounding area have recently witnessed an escalation in attacks against Syrian regime checkpoints.

People in the town of Hosh Nasri in Eastern Ghouta previously found the body of a member of the regime's intelligence, lying in agricultural land on the outskirts of the town.

Eastern Ghouta and Daraa were previously strongholds of the Syrian opposition, before being captured by the regime in 2018. Daraa province in particular remains restive with frequent assassinations and security inciedents.

Currently the northern province of Idlib and adjoining parts of Aleppo province are the only areas in the country to be held by anti-Assad Syrian opposition forces.

More than 500,000 Syrians have been killed since the Syrian conflict broke out in 2011 following the brutal suppression of pro-democracy protests by the Assad regime, most of them civilians killed in regime bombardment of civilian areas.