Incident Code
Incident Code
Incident Date
Location
Airwars Assessment
In the middle of the night between Monday, January 8th, 2024, and Tuesday, January 9th, 2024, a suspected drug smuggler Issam Khair was killed as a result of an alleged Jordanian airstrike hitting his farm located east of the town of Meleh between Meleh and Al-Shaab, in the eastern countryside of Al-Suwayda governorate, Syria.
Alaraby and Al Mohad news TV reported that the civilian was injured as a result of the alleged airstrike and died after being brought to the hospital Al-Basil Hospital in the Salkhad area.
Facebook user Feras Beraqdar reported at 07:01 AM that: “Issam Khair, one of the major cross-border drug smugglers, was killed by targeting his farm in the village of #Malh.”
GeneralInspect3 shared on Twitter/X at 04:33: “Khair is known for his close association with officers of the Assad regime, and is considered one of the drug smugglers across the Syrian-Jordanian border.” Mawqaa echoed this information: “Our correspondent pointed out that Issam Khair is the most prominent drug trafficker and has a close relationship with the security services in the Assad regime’s militias, which provide him with coverage in his work in the drug trade.” However, none of the sources allege that the victim was a member of a military/militant organizations. Therefore, he has been classified as a civilian.
GeneralInspect3 referred to Issam Khair’s farm on Twitter/X at 4:58 PM as a Captagon factory. The user added four pictures to the post allegedly representing the rest of the man’s farm. The pictures show a destroyed small building in a deserted area, where only the pillars were still standing. Rubbles and broken furniture covered the surface where the building was standing.
Suwayda24 shared a video on Twitter/X at 12:29 PM showing the same destroyed building. In the video, two men were standing within the perimeters of the destroyed building and observing the rubbles; smoke was coming out from the site.
Where the sources identified the belligerent, all the sources identified the Jordanian military as responsible for the airstrike.