"He was involved in every single military or security issue meant for
Bashar," an Arab source said.
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 entrusted with North Korean nuclear
cooperation with Syria. They said Suleiman, trained in the former Soviet
Union, helped oversee the North Korean construction of a plutonium
production plant in Al Kibar in northeastern Syria. The plant was destroyed
in an Israeli air strike in September 2007.
"Suleiman knew all the secrets of the Syrian regime," the intelligence
source said. "He was completely trusted by Bashar and did not harbor any
political ambitions."
Syrian opposition sources said Suleiman, an Alawite, was believed to
have been assassinated as part of an attempt by the Iranian-sponsored
Hizbullah to avenge the death of its operational chief, Imad Mughniyeh, in
February 2008. The sources said Suleiman, killed in the Syrian port city of
Tartous, was accused by Hizbullah of being linked to the car bombing that
killed Mughniyeh outside the office of then-Syrian intelligence chief Assaf
Chawkat. In June, Chawkat, Bashar's brother-in-law, was dismissed and placed
under house arrest.
A Syrian source told the London-based A-Sharq Al Awsat that the death of
Suleiman marked a severe blow to the Assad regime. The source, reporting a
power struggle within the regime, said the killing pointed to a loss of
control by Assad as well as the isolation of the Syrian leadership.
"Undoubtedly, the regime is in a difficult and complex situation
complicated by the suppression, the recent incidents in Sidnaya [prison],
the policy of isolation and exclusion and the sectarian tensions in Syria,"
the source said. "Of course, such a tense situation is bad for Syria and the
regime is to blame for it."
At this point, Syria has not identified any suspects in the Suleiman
killing. Hizbullah has denied any involvement.
"A liquidation operation does not take place except following a central
decision," the Syrian source said. "This was a big operation. This person
was important in the regime and within the army."