A senior Syrian soldier who fed prisoners to his 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 militias in the western city of Hama, according to local media.
Videos posted on X on Tuesday claim that preparations are being made for Dakkak’s execution, although his death has not been officially verified.
It is said that he would be killed in front of a crowd – a plan drawn up by the local rebel militia for senior members of the Syrian army.
The brutal enforcer, also known as Abu Sakhr, was one of Syria’s most notorious army leaders and powerful businessmen in Hama and at one point led a 1,500-strong air force intelligence militia.
He rose to fame after allegedly stealing a lion cub from a zoo and feeding it the bodies of his captives, according to a 2019 article by The Syrian Observer.
Dakkak also reportedly filmed the cub destroying a live horse before posting the footage on social media.
He is responsible for several other heinous criminal acts, including kidnapping, murder and organ trafficking, the article said. Dakkak was also reportedly involved in smuggling and selling unregistered vehicles and trafficking in narcotics.
The former taxi driver is believed to be one of several senior army members captured by the rebels after the fall of the long-standing regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Talal Dakkak (pictured), a feared member of the Syrian army’s elite 25th division who fed prisoners to his lion, has been reportedly executed by local rebels
He rose to fame after allegedly stealing a lion cub from a zoo and feeding it the bodies of his captives. Dakkak is depicted with a lion cub on the hood of a car
Hakkak is believed to be killed by local militias in Hama. Pictured: Rebel fighters parade through the streets of Hama after troops captured the central city on December 6
The EU has warned there is a high risk of Syria descending into sectarian violence, but Islamist rebel leader Abu Mohammed al-Jolani insisted the West has nothing to fear.
A Syrian war monitor said Tuesday that jihadists from the Islamic State group killed 54 government soldiers who fled as Islamist-led rebels waged 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, the Syrian reported Observatory for Human Rights. .
ISIS captured large parts 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 concluded their lightning offensive against government forces this weekend with the capture of the capital Damascus, ending al-Assad’s long-standing regime.
The president’s last-ditch escape to Russia to avoid certain death at the hands of the rebels marked the end of some fifty years of dynastic rule by the al-Assad family – and the end of a brutal civil war that lasted fourteen years lasted.
There are hopes that the overthrow of al-Assad could herald a new dawn with steps toward a peaceful, more prosperous future, but many analysts warn that rival militias could become locked in a bitter power struggle while civilians continue to suffer.
Meanwhile, countries like Turkey, Russia, Israel, Iran and the US are trying to advance and secure their regional interests – and all are wary of the threat of a possible ISIS resurgence amid the chaos.
The leader of the Syrian Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, addresses a crowd at the monumental Umayyad Mosque in the capital on December 8.
A man sits on a bicycle next to a tank in Homs, Syria, on December 8
Syrians celebrate in the central square of Homs in early December
The news of the massacre of troops follows the statement by the European Union’s new foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, who 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 hearing in a European Parliament committee that the fall of al-Assad was a blow to Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iran.
She said: ‘For Putin and the Iranian regime, the fall of Assad is a huge blow to both.’
Syria’s new interim leader, Mohammed al-Bashir, announced on Tuesday that he is taking over the country as interim prime minister, with the support of the former rebels who toppled al-Assad three days ago.
The rebel offensive was led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a Sunni Islamist group that burst from its stronghold in Syria’s northwestern province of Idlib less than two weeks ago.
HTS has its roots in the jihadist Al Qaeda, but has been trying to reposition itself as a more moderate Syrian nationalist organization since its founding in 2017.
Its leader Ahmad al-Sharaa – better known by his nom-de-guerre Abu Mohammed al-Golani (also written as Jawlani or Julani) – insists that he will work to create a tolerant, civilized nation where religious and ethnic minorities can live peacefully.