Syria says arrested Assad-era officer specialising in chemical weapons

DAMASCUS: Syrian authorities announced on Wednesday (Jul 15) the arrest of a former officer they say was a chemical weapons specialist in charge of sarin gas depots and chemical weapons manufacturing during ousted president Bashar al-Assad's era.Since Assad's fall in December 2024, authorities have arrested dozens of people they say committed crimes during the country's 13-year civil war, and started trials in April.The interior ministry said security forces had arrested colonel Ahmed Habib Ali, calling him "a chemical weapons expert".It also said he "was responsible for sarin gas storage facilities and chemical manufacturing within Unit 417", a key chemical weapons storage facility near the capital, Damascus. According to the ministry, Ali was "one of the officers who supervised the manuf