Authorities arrest members of armed gang behind murders and abductions in Salamiyeh, Hama

Hama, SANA-Hama Internal Security Forces’ patrols arrested members of a gang responsible for a string of murders, abductions and armed robberies in Salamiyeh area in the eastern countryside of Hama.

In a statement to SANA reporter, a source at Hama Police Command said that the patrols of Criminal Security arrested “Bashar Fawaz al-Salloum” and “Khoder Khaled al-Shadhan” who are members of a gang that committed crimes against citizens in Salamiyeh area.

The source added that the two arrested persons confessed after interrogating them that they committed, along with a group of 6 persons, 32 abductions and 10 murders.
The confessions also led to revealing a mass grave containing the remains of 3 civilians who were kidnapped, tortured, killed and buried after burning them using cars’ tires in one of the farms in Um al-Amad village. The authorities concerned pulled out the victims’ corpses and were able to identify one of them while samples have been taken from the two other bodies and sent to specialized laboratories in order to identify the two other victims.

The source pointed out that the authorities found a rifle, grenades, a pistol and tools used for torture inside the farms, adding that the that investigations are underway to arrest the rest of the gang to bring them to justice.

Manar al-Frieh/Manal