A Syrian air force commander under former president Bashar Al Assad who was allegedly responsible for chemical attacks has been captured by the country's new authorities.
Maj Gen Jayez Al Moussa is the latest high-ranking figure from the Assad era to be arrested in Syria since the former president was overthrown in 2024. Counter-terrorism police captured him in a “precise operation”, the Interior Ministry said.
The general, who was chief of staff of the Syrian air force, was placed under sanctions during Syria's civil war due to allegations his forces used chemical weapons during the “violent repression” of civilians. Investigators working for the UN found evidence the Syrian air force dropped sarin and chlorine during the civil war.
Maj Gen Al Moussa's forces were particularly active during fighting in Aleppo, where Assad government forces – backed by Russian warplanes – launched a major offensive to recapture the area from rebels.
After leaving his air force post, the general was appointed governor of Hasakah, in north-eastern Syria, by Bashar Al Assad. He left that role in 2020. During the civil war the Assad government had no effective control over much of the region, which became dominated by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces.
The new Syrian authorities under President Ahmad Al Shara have made extensive efforts to track down Assad loyalists since taking power. Bashar Al Assad himself fled to Russia in late 2024 and has not been seen since.
The first trial of a high-ranking Assad ally opened last month as Atif Najib, the former head of security in Deraa, faces charges of killing and torturing protesters. The protest and resulting crackdown in Deraa in 2011 are regarded as the beginning of Syria's civil war.
Former general Adnan Abboud Halawa was detained last month over his suspected role in a 2013 chemical attack on Ghouta. A week earlier, authorities announced the arrest of Amjad Yousef, a former member of military intelligence and the chief suspect in another 2013 massacre.
