A senior Syrian soldier who used to feed prisoners to his pet 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 militia in the western city of Hama, according to media on the ground.
Videos posted to X on Tuesday claimed to show preparations being made for Dakkak’s execution, although his death has not been officially verified.
It’s said he was going to be killed in front of a crowd – a plan set for senior members of the Syrian Army by local rebel militia.
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 militia of the Air Force Intelligence.
He gained notoriety after allegedly stealing a lion cub from a zoo and feeding it with the bodies of his prisoners, according to an article from The Syrian Observer in 2019.
Dakkak also reportedly filmed the cub demolishing a live horse before posting the footage on social media.
He is responsible for several other horrific criminal acts, including kidnapping, killing and organ trade the article adds. Dakkak was also reportedly involved in smuggling and selling unregistered vehicles and trading narcotics.
The former taxi driver is thought to be one of a number of senior army members to have been captured by the rebels after the fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s longstanding regime.
Talal Dakkak (pictured), a feared member of the Syrian Army’s elite 25th Division who used to feed prisoners to his pet lion has reportedly been executed by local rebels
He gained notoriety after allegedly stealing a lion cub from a zoo and feeding it with the bodies of his prisoners. Dakkak is pictured with a lion cub on the hood of a car
Hakkak is believed to have been killed by local militia in Hama. Pictured: Rebel fighters parade in the streets of Hama after forces captured the central city, on December 6
The EU has warned there is a huge risk of Syria descending into sectarian violence – but the Islamist rebel leader Abu Mohammed al-Jolani insisted that the West has nothing to fear.
A Syria war monitor said on Tuesday that Islamic State group jihadists killed 54 government soldiers who were fleeing as Islamist-led rebels pressed an offensive.
ISIS jihadists captured ‘personnel fleeing military service in the dessert… during the collapse of the regime’ of president Bashar al-Assad and ‘executed 54’ of them in the Sukhna area in the Homs desert, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
ISIS overran large swathes of Syria and Iraq in 2014, but was defeated territorially in Syria in 2019. However its remnants still carry out deadly attacks.
Syrian rebel groups capped off their lightning offensive against government forces this weekend when they seized the capital city Damascus, marking an end to al-Assad’s longstanding regime.
The president’s last-ditch escape to Russia to avoid certain death at the hands of the rebels marked the end of some five decades of the al-Assad family’s dynastic rule – and the end of a brutal 14-year civil war.
There are hopes that al-Assad’s toppling could herald a new dawn with moves toward a peaceful, more prosperous future, but many analysts warn rival militias could become embroiled in a bitter power struggle as civilians continue to suffer.
All the while, the likes of Turkey, Russia, Israel, Iran and the US are seeking to advance and safeguard their regional interests – and all are wary of the threat of a possible ISIS resurgence amid the chaos.
The leader of Syria’s Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group Abu Mohammed al-Jolani address a crowd at the capital’s landmark Umayyad Mosque on December 8
A man sits on a bicycle next to a tank in Homs, Syria, on December 8
Syrians celebrate in the main square of Homs early on December 8
The news of the massacre of troops follows the European Union’s new foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas saying there are legitimate concerns about the risks of sectarian violence in Syria and a resurgence of extremism in the country.
Kallas also told a European Parliament committee hearing that the fall of al-Assad represented a blow for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iran.
She said: ‘For Putin and the Iranian regime, the fall of Assad is a huge blow for both.’
Syria’s new interim leader Mohammed al-Bashir announced on Tuesday he was taking charge of the country as caretaker Prime Minister with the backing 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 out of its stronghold in the northwestern Syrian province of Idlib less than two weeks ago.
HTS has its roots in the jihadist al-Qaeda, but since its founding in 2017 has tried to reposition itself as a more moderate Syrian nationalist organisation.
Its leader Ahmad al-Sharaa – better known by his nom-de-guerre Abu Mohammed al-Golani (also written Jawlani or Julani) – insists that he will work to create a tolerant, civilised nation where religious and ethnic minorities can live peacefully.