A senior Syrian soldier who used to feed prisoners to his pet lion has reportedly been publicly executed by local rebels.
Talal Dakkak, a feared member of the Syrian army’s elite 25th Division, also known as the Tiger Forces, has been killed by local militia in the western city of Hama, according to media on the ground.
Videos posted on X on Tuesday claimed to show preparations being made for Dakkak’s execution, although his death has not been officially verified.
He was reportedly going to be killed in front of a crowd, a plan laid out for senior members of the Syrian army by the local rebel militia.
The brutal enforcer, also known as Abu Sakhr, was one of Syria’s most notorious army leaders and one of the most powerful businessmen in Hama and at one point led a 1,500-strong Air Force Intelligence militia.
He gained notoriety after allegedly stealing a lion cub from a zoo and feeding it the bodies of his prisoners, according to a 2019 The Syria Observer article.
Dakkak also reportedly filmed the pup taking down a live horse before posting the footage on social media.
He is responsible for several other horrendous criminal acts, including kidnappings, murders and organ trafficking, the article added. Dakkak was also reportedly involved in smuggling and selling unregistered vehicles and the narcotics trade.
The former taxi driver is believed to be one of several senior members of the army captured by rebels after the fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s former regime.
Talal Dakkak (pictured), a feared member of the Syrian army’s elite 25th Division who used to feed prisoners to his pet lion, has reportedly been executed by local rebels.
He gained notoriety after allegedly stealing a lion cub from a zoo and feeding it the bodies of his prisoners. Dakkak is pictured with a lion cub on the hood of a car.
Hakkak is believed to have been killed by local militia in Hama. Pictured: Rebel fighters parade through the streets of Hama after forces captured the central city, December 6.
The EU has warned there is a huge risk of Syria descending into sectarian violence, but Islamist rebel leader Abu Mohammed al-Jolani insisted the West has nothing to fear.
An observer of the Syrian war said Tuesday that jihadists from the Islamic State group killed 54 fleeing government soldiers as Islamist-led rebels launched an offensive.
ISIS jihadists captured “personnel fleeing military service in the desert…during the collapse of the regime” of President Bashar al-Assad and “executed 54” of them in the Sukhna area of the Homs Desert, he said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. .
ISIS invaded large areas of Syria and Iraq in 2014, but was territorially defeated in Syria in 2019. However, its remnants still carry out deadly attacks.
Syrian rebel groups culminated their lightning offensive against government forces this weekend when they took the capital city of Damascus, marking the end of the former al-Assad regime.
The president’s desperate flight to Russia to avoid certain death at the hands of rebels marked the end of some five decades of dynastic rule by the al-Assad family and the end of a brutal 14-year civil war.
There are hopes that the overthrow of Al-Assad could herald a new dawn with progress towards a peaceful and more prosperous future, but many analysts warn that rival militias could become embroiled in a bitter power struggle as civilians continue to suffer.
Meanwhile, countries such as Turkey, Russia, Israel, Iran and the United States are seeking to advance and safeguard their regional interests, all fearing the threat of a possible resurgence of ISIS amid the chaos.
The leader of the Syrian Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, addresses a crowd at the capital’s iconic Umayyad Mosque on December 8.
A man sits on a bicycle next to a tank in Homs, Syria, on December 8.
Syrians celebrate in the main square of Homs in the early hours of December 8.
News of the troop massacre comes after the European Union’s new foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, said there are legitimate concerns about the risks of sectarian violence in Syria and a resurgence of extremism in the country.
Kallas also told a European Parliament committee hearing that al-Assad’s fall represented a blow to Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iran.
She said: “For Putin and the Iranian regime, the fall of Assad is a serious blow to both.”
Syria’s new interim leader, Mohammed al-Bashir, announced Tuesday that he would take charge of the country as interim prime minister with the backing of former rebels who overthrew al-Assad three days ago.
The rebel offensive was led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a Sunni Islamist group that stormed its stronghold in Syria’s northwestern Idlib province less than two weeks ago.
HTS has its roots in the jihadist Al Qaeda, but since its founding in 2017 has attempted to reposition itself as a more moderate Syrian nationalist organization.
Its leader Ahmad al-Sharaa – better known by his nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Golani (also spelled Jawlani or Julani) – insists that he will work to create a tolerant, civilized nation where religious and ethnic minorities can live in peace.