Slain General Was No. 2 Figure In Syria

LONDON [MENL] -- An army general assassinated under mysterious circumstances
was identified as the second most powerful man in Syria.
Arab intelligence sources said Maj. Gen. Mohammed Suleiman, the leading
adviser to President Bashar Assad, was the most powerful man in both the
Syrian military and government. The sources said Suleiman, killed by a
sniper aboard a yatch on Aug. 2, was more influential than Syria's defense
minister
and chief of staff.
"He was involved in every single military or security issue meant for
Bashar," an Arab source said.
[On Aug. 6, the Syrian regime acknowledged the death of Suleiman.
Officials said an investigation has been launched.]
Suleiman, 49, was described as the right-hand man of Bashar sought by
the United Nations in connection with its investigation of the assassination
of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in 2005. The sources said
Suleiman was Assad's liasion to Hizbullah as well as North Korea, a leading
military supplier of Damascus.