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On March 24, unidentified gunmen assassinated the head of the local council of al-Sanamayn town in the northern countryside of Syria’s Daraa.
The gunmen shot and killed Mahmoud Mohamed Atma while he was stroll near al-Sanamayn town hall. A friend who was with Atma at the time of the attack was severely wounded. The gunmen were able to flee the scene.
Atma was the second local official to be assassinated in Daraa this March. Exactly a week earlier, Tayseer Hamdi al-Okla, head of the local council of Jasim town in the western countryside of the governorate, was gunned down by unidentified gunmen.
Al-Okla was assassinated a day after a fierce battle in Jasim between a force from the Syrian General Intelligence Directorate (GID) and terrorists of ISIS. The battle claimed the lives of five GID officers.
The hits on Atma and al-Okla were likely orchestrated by ISIS cells in Daraa. Both men enjoyed good relations with both Syrian authorities and former rebels in their towns.
ISIS appears to be taking advantage of the unstable situation in Dara to strengthen its influence in the governorate and nearby areas. Syrian authorities and former rebels in Daraa will have to work together to address the threat posed by the terrorist group.
