FILE PHOTO: A member of the former rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham stands guard near an image of Syria's Bashar al-Assad at the fourth division headquarters in Damascus, Syria, January 23, 2025 REUTERS/Yamam Al Shaar/File Photo
DAMASCUS (Reuters) -Syrian authorities have arrested a former senior security officer and cousin of ousted leader Bashar al-Assad seen by some as responsible for sparking the country's 2011 uprising due to a crackdown on protests in the southern city of Daraa, state media said.
Atef Najib, a brigadier general and former head of the Political Security Department in Daraa, was arrested by General Security forces in the country's western Latakia province, state media SANA said.
