A pro-government Syrian paper on Sunday accused the Israeli Mossad of being behind the killing of a top research director at a military agency linked to Syria’s chemical weapons program.
The al-Watan newspaper reported on its website that Aziz Azbar, of the Scientific Studies and Research Center, died in a blast targeting his car Saturday night, in Syria’s Hama province.
It said Israel was suspected of carrying out the attack. Israeli officials, past and present, refused to comment on the accusations. There was no official comment from Syria either.
Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman sought to downplay the possibility of Israeli involvement.
“Every day in the Middle East there are hundreds of explosions and settling of scores. Every time they try to place the blame on us. So we won’t take this too seriously,” he told Hadashot News.
An insurgent group calling itself the Abu Amara Brigades claimed responsibility for the operation. The group has previously claimed attacks targeting officials and militia commanders inside government territory.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the Syria war through local contacts, also reported Azbar’s death. It said he specialized in developing rocket systems at the center’s Masyaf facility in Hama.
Israel’s Hadashot TV news said Sunday night he was in charge of a project improving the range and accuracy of the regime’s Scud missiles. Reports have also indicated an Iranian missile operation at the site.
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