Fail "Caesar," Part 9: Prior Documentation of Torture

Fail "Caesar," part 9 

Prior Documentation of Torture
June 11, 2016
edits June 12

There are probably far too many possible parallels to cover all, but I've chosen one especially interesting and perhaps telling instance to start with. There may, and may well not, be some others I take the time to feature.

Lashing a Kid in Mleha

One common feature of the "Caesar photos" is serious lashing abuse with cables (or "tramlines") - something either side and perhaps both sides might be doing. But in this case where it's clearly said to be by the regime, it doesn't appear to be true. So is it true with the photo victims?

This allegation and contrary evidence come, as they often do, from the same rebel video -on Youtube, posted as +18 Syria| Barbarian Torture of a Young Man by Regime Forces in Suburban Damascus 15/4/2013 (by channel Bashar Assad Crimes Archive 3) The victim is a boy or young man, aged maybe 17-19 or so, a bit slender but decently-built for his age, but here seeming like a complete weakling. He's first seen, still in great pain, walking unsteadily into the clinic, helped by one man as another films and tells us this is Mleha, western Ghouta.

Al-Maliha on Wikimapia is given as part of East Ghouta, but on the western edge, south of Ain Tarma and next to Christian-majority Jaramana. Inside the clinical blame chamber, the young man says he was detained by security forces at Ma'araba checkpoint (location unclear), as he was coming from the airport (south of Mleha) so headed north, past (FWIW) Hatite at-Turkuman area. He was apparently on his way home from somewhere; his ID showed he was from Jobar (a bit to the north). He tells the activists his place or origin is the sole reason for the beating they gave him (this is a common theme in rebel propaganda).

It was a severe beating, done, he says, with electrical cables. I quick count at least 30 lashes, it might be 40 is that's a real standard here, for whoever. Each stroke ruptured tissue - no light beating this - their crossing paths left red and black mass damage all over his back. There's also  unseen damage to his chest he moans over ("oooh, my chest"). 40 lashes on each side, we hope not.

Here's what's more than just odd - the implied narrative, considering what he says and what we see together. He was stopped by organized (regime) thugs and severely beaten. Then in very quick order he was released by them, and somehow came upon a kindly group of different but also organized men, the kind who often wear leather coats and get around on motorcycles, and don't look overtly Jihadist. In this case, they have their own media team and a quasi-medical blame chamber. They might even have their own checkpoints around!

The kind of trauma this boy was just put through will cause a sort of shock that causes a person to go weak like we see here, for a short time afterwards. (precise science, maybe later...) For a thin person like this, it might last a bit longer than usual. Did he choose to come here immediately after the checkpoint, still in pain and shock, to document the crime immediately? Before he could even bear to move, or walk steadily on his own, did he walk here, or try to sit down in the car seat and drive in this state? How long was the journey? 

And how long does that shock last? That's unclear at the moment, but 5-10 minutes seems reasonable. When the boy stumbles over his name (it's not shared in the video), the cameraman tells him five minutes will settle his nerves to talk.  He seems to be an expert in recovery time from just this abuse. Does he encounter it often, in his line of work? He thinks it's (length of journey) plus another 5 minutes. That's most consistent with a journey of close to zero minutes.

In at least one spot, the boy's skin is broken - still wet, not even scabbing over. This and the fresh shock at least strongly suggest he was just then beaten, maybe one minute before the video starts - obviously by these kindly helpers or their friends, not by distant "regime thugs." And he says what they would want him to say, true or not. This is standard, of course  . "Regime thugs" did it, say activists with video, and the just-tortured or just-killed victims they can show you always agree, either silently or in pained and timid words as happened here.

The area and time of this dubious incident are possibly relevant to understanding what the Caesar photos show. This is similar lashing to that seen in the photos from deeper inside the regime prison system (as it's been sold). Damascus suburbs in 2013 is when masses of apparently unidentified corpse poured through hospital 601 to be documented by the soon-to-defect "Caesar" - accelerating massively in the months leading up to Caesar's defection and the Ghouta alleged sarin attack (August 20 and 21, respectively).  Analysis says the bulk of his 11,000 implied victims came in at an average rate of about 1,000 per month up to August. These were tortured, starved, and killed, usually without any visible wound to explain it - instead, there are signs of chemical exposure.

The bottom image at right is a "Caesar" photo victim, #1237 from branch 227, as labeled by the killers, in the February, 2013 folder. * 227-1237 was lashed about as severley, on the front, with a similar kind of cables (at least 33 lashes pointed to here, from the Carter-Ruck report). His unseen back might also be lashed up, inverse of the kid above - may be lashed on both sides. 1237 also may have also suffered some chemical exposure, as with chlorine, that additionally burned the lash marks. This gassing, as with most, was probably the cause of death.
 
* compare to full body shot with numbers from SAFMCD video, matching #s and details on this SAFMCD face shot with date indicated.

Anyway, they would say 1237 was taken, maybe at a checkpoint, detained and  abused, in part just like the lashed kid around the same time and place they had this story about ...

Fallujah Fake ISIS Document, Part 2

Fallujah Fake ISIS Document, Redux
June 7, 2016
(incomplete) 
last edits June 10

In December I wrote a little-seen analysis of  the Falluja Fake ISIS Document, which I considered as possible "massacre pre-marketing" in Iraq. It was revealed only as Iraqi and allied forces were planning to re-take Fallujah from Daesh (Islamic State) It's dated September 25 (translated from a Hijri date) and actually publicized in mid-October, before being re-publicized, more widely-noted, and debunked, in December.  It ordered Daesh (ISIS) fighters to abandon Fallujah, but not without first committing various atrocities it would blame on the Iraqi military and allies.

I and others may have been too quick to call that a counterfeit, but now the feat has been repeated, and it feels about twice as likely to be fake. I was also inspired to finally create a page at A Closer Look On Syria to consider both of them. And now the allegations of militia abuses are coming in (see below), and the subject matters.

The first find was clear in its intent to demonize any liberating force, especially Shia forces. But in appearing fake, it spun around in most minds to do the same; the fakery implicated the "sectarian Shi'ite militias" who wanted a "carte blanche" to kill Sunnis and pretend it was ISIS framing them. But they did it with what seems to be an obvious fake.

So did they just goof-up? Or ... did someone else fake it for them, while trying to make them look stupid along the way? Reverse psychology being what it is, in fact I propose another turn is involved, and its goal was to create just that widespread interpretation. The experts might've walked into a trap, wittingly or not, and given ISIS "carte blanche" to do whatever they want and let it look like the culmination of this plot by the genocidal Shi'ite goof-ups. 

In May, 2016, as Iraqi forces and allies prepared to actually enter Fallujah, another document to the same effect was allegedly issued. Dated 9 or 10 of May (the Hijri date is hard to read - there's a 2 or 3 involved, and at too low a resolution to tell which), its commandments are about the same. Point 2 says blow up houses and mosques and blame the liberators. Point 4 says to dress as Iraqi or Shia forces and execute prisoners, and "document the killings while chanting Shiite slogans and publishing them as acts committed by the Shiite forces themselves." (Never mind that they'll also deny it, even as they seem to boast with the open videos - the public and the Ulema will probably not be confused)

The paper was reportedly discovered by the mainly Shia Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) in Karamah, northeast of Falluja, lightly crumpled. It was quickly published by PMU supporters to prove Daesh duplicity, as if the first find never happened. The earliest mention I've found is a May 23 tweet, 1:17 PM exposing the "smokescreen" - Another 30 minutes later heralded "an important document found by our heroes in Fallujah." A later Facebook post by Dr. Tim Anderson (accurately) describes this false-flag thinking as "the modus operandi of NATO-backed terrorist groups... What DAESH, Nusra and FSA have in common."

Signs of Forgery

Many have re-posted it with no comment, as it speaks for itself - just like the last one. But it's also seriously questioned. A Vocactiv analysis on May 24 explained the document and how its veracity is doubted by Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi - the main expert cited to call the previous one fake. "He says the Iraqi military or Shiite militias likely created it," the report says, "to pin the blame for any acts of destruction and war crimes that might take place during the fight for Fallujah on ISIS" (note: they leave open that the acts might be done by either side). Tamimi is quoted as telling them “It’s similar to the fake tweeted by Col. Steve Warren in December, albeit slightly improved.” The letterhead is now correct, for one (Anbar, not Nineveh province). Here he cites only an improbable job title.

Another issue I noticed is what seems to be a directly copied "official stamp." The square blue stamp on each document is shown for comparison at right: the 2016 instance (bottom) might be rotated about 0.5 degrees either way relative to the 2015 order (top), or not at all (the crumpled paper might be giving a false perspective). 

It's not built in to the paper at that angle (of course stamps usually aren't); another document found more recently (June 6 tweet) tells Daesh fighters to flee to Raqqah. It's a bit suspicious itself, with the convenient little battle-burns, but has what seems like the same stamp done at a notably different angle from these two.

If these are the same exact angle, it would suggest someone copied the one onto the other, without even a basic rotation adjustment. It would suggest sloppy forgery, of the kind meant to be noticed. 

Furthermore, the later stamp seems blurry and low-resolution compared to more crisp lettering. Is that sloppy compression maybe, or stretching from a smaller copy? And consider the slight curve along the right in the top view; that could be part of the design, or from paper irregularities (no noticeable crumpling, however). But  the later stamp, on slightly crumpled paper, seems to mimic this anomaly, besides the rotation - all just a little bit blurrier.

Concerns In Context

True or not, it's widely believed now in most channels that these orders are fake. In the bulk of minds, it seems, this impressions raises concerns that the PMUs or allied forces are planning (or at least expecting) sectarian crimes.  Governments, media, and NGOs seem to credit the fears, urging no reprisal killings, as if it's quite likely otherwise - unconvincing presentation by State Dept. spokesman Mark Toner on June 3 tried to assure us it wasn't likely - etc., all setting the stage very well to be disgusted when and if they do surface.

major concerns about civilian safety led to a halting of operations around June 1  (EA Worldview) - as local were killed by Daesh while trying to flee or drowned crossing the river, allegedly burned themselves in suicide attempts, or like most remained face continued embargo, human shield status or worse, supposedly random shelling, and possible sectarian massacre - a lot of worry about all this has been expressed, with the effect of prolonging Daesh's control, which everyone insists is - maybe just barely - the #1 problem that does need solved. 

Past accusations of atrocities, quite possibly untrue, were trotted out to bolster the validity of concerns raised, for example, in the Vocactiv piece. Some perhaps knowing comments from that:

“Fallujah will be closed upon under the pretext of ISIS ... But it’s to kill Sunnis and exterminate them.”
“Soon on [your TV] screens: the raping of Sunni women, the killing of handicapped elders, the burning of a Sunni boy, the killing of Sunni children.”

Suggestions

If these predictions should come (seemingly) true ... and it seems they just now are ... let's notice the alleged implications of that. After their clever plans were exposed twice, and they apparently didn't notice - the genocidal Shia goof-ups will have committed the massacres they think they have squarely blamed on Daesh. Because of course they are both evil and stupid. 

Or will the worst effect be that the best fighters (in many minds) are kept out of the fight to avoid that risk (so far everyone agrees the PMUs will stay out)? Will it even matter? If the video shows such and such stolen uniform, etc ... they'll be "proven" to be there anyway, despite their denials...

My suggestion now to Iraqi military, the PMUs, their supporters -
1) Re-consider these documents as possibly booby-trapped disinformation - if they really seem valid, please explain why to the rest of us. If they do seem fake, use your brains to consider who and why, and explain your thoughts on that.
2) Work to address existing concerns about the likelihood of sectarian abuses (check the accusations, examine the evidence, accept any  truths and adjust, expose any falsehoods).
3) Press the fight, and obviously don't commit atrocities.
4) Prepare to document and explain any contested crimes - with or without a printed order, false-flag atrocities remain a possibility, but the masses over here would probably not see them for what they are, at least without some serious assistance.

Example Atrocities

(will be split-off into at least one post)
17 Men and Boys Executed:

First example case I've seen yet: Alongside more prevalent reports of abusive detention that most survive easily, there's the story told by "Abu Mohammed" and his nephew, to a dpa journalist -  17 men and boys of their extended family were shot dead in a field execution when they tried to surrender to conquering forces "who were wearing police uniforms but carrying the flag of a militia group." One victim was aged 10, but other children and women were reportedly spared and later released, they say.

Now, if these details are even true ... who could get a single flag but not enough proper uniforms to look like militiamen ... in police uniforms instead? Recall the implied Shia militia plan had been to pose as themselves, pretending to be ISIS posing as them, and demonize themselves on video. But they would have enough uniforms to do that trick right. Or were the uniforms a last-minute change, and they forgot to lose the flag? There's no proof they even had this flag, but it sounds compelling - they probably did fly the flag, and it was probably false.

Syria {Masterlist}

Syria {Masterlist}

first posted June 14, 2015

last updates June 21, 2017

A rather impressive amount of research has been done on many episodes and patterns of the Syria conflict at the ACLOS wiki (A Closer Look On Syria), by collecting and analyzing work, reports, and videos by others. So far only select highlights have been brought to this site, with ACLOS links on these crossover subjects given with each post, usually. While not perfect or final, the quantity, quality, and consistency of our results increasingly make these side-lined "pro-regime" analyses much stronger than the pro-opposition versions sold at the time. This is more the shape any reasonable history book will take on the subject. The sharing invites the reader to get ahead of the curve.

The sharing works well when it's two-way. Readers with valuable  info, or relevant opinions, are encouraged to submit it in the comments. Preferably they'll be in a post about just that subject (note - not every subject has a post here, and comments sometimes get a bit random, let's limit that a bit more.) General Syria comments could best go in comments under this masterlist, for example.

See also: all posts tagged Syria

7 Leading Propaganda Claims Addressed

Some of our best work has been in tackling the events in Syria that came closest to triggering outright military intervention to "stop Assad" or get cited the most by those arguing for such moves. This is my top 7 from among these (re-ordered May, 2016). Note: this assembled material makes this post a valuable resource to bookmark, peruse, and share.

Executed police thrown in river, Hama,
August 1 (Rebellion...Hama pt. 1)

1 The Peaceful Protests of 2011 that "Assad" crushed ... this is the primary argument for why "the regime must go" - because it didn't already when some citizens demanded it, and started instead shooting and arresting people, always blaming imaginary armed "terrorists," and some "conspiracy."
* The Peaceful Protests of 2011 {Masterlist} (forthcoming)
* Baniyas The Baniyas Ambush of Syrian Soldiers, April 10, 2011
* Daraa Re-Considering Hamza al-Khatib and the Events of April 29, 2011  Arrested from a peaceful protest and tortured to death? Seriously - that's a question mark at the end.
* Hama Deaths by Shooting: The Rebellion Starts in Hama, part 1
* Hama Robert Ford, Weapons Inspector: The Rebellion Starts in Hama, part 2
* Hama To Kill a Mock-Nightingale: The Rebellion Starts in Hama, part 3
* Hama Crushing the Rebellion at al-Mazarb Bridge: The Rebellion Begins in Hama, part 4
* Jisr al-Shughour: Peaceful Protests in Jisr al-Shughour (forthcoming) (See Harmoush defector profile)

2) Chemical Weapons Allegations, Sarin to Chlorine to Sarin Again

* 2.A Idlib Chemical Massacre, 4-4-2017: Alleged sarin attack in Khan Sheikhoun said to kill over 100, including 43 children, triggering the first direct (overtly intentional) US military strikes against Syrian forces  ... heavy stuff, ongoing investigation. How did the White House already find out the truth so quickly? They couldn't have. They just took the rebel-claims, which might have concealed a fairly well-planned terrorist false-flag massacre of their own captive civilians.
* Red Flags report: 138 CW incidents, 159 gathered question marks (up to early 2017)

* 2.B Syria Chlorine Allegations (March-??, 2016, emphasis on the first incident, March 16 - overview.

Mohammed al-Taleb, treated then dead

* Terrible Flaws in OPCW's Syria Chlorine Investigation (summarizes all below, adding on the idiocy of the chlorine barrel bombs  allegation and the possibility of on-site synthesis)
(3 proper sub-posts)

* 1 Why Chlorine?  If hundreds allegedly killed by Sarin didn't get rebels a NATO air force, why would they bother faking barely-deadly chlorine attacks? Here's why.

* 2 What Killed the Talebs? March 16: Rebels and allied medical activists said it was chlorine dropped by the government, but  the visuals suggest the children at least were killed instead with a drug overdose, assisted by medical negligence.

* 3 Where was Dr. Tennari? The main source for the apparently false chlorine claims of March 16 is the director of the hospital where the children died. By the video record, doesn't even know where he was that night. Or is this intentional dishonesty?

(and also April - May, 2014)
*  Syria Chlorine Allegations: 2014 Attacks Target IDPs

* February, 2017 HRW report assessed 
** The Baytounji Family

Something you have to wonder why noone has noticed it so far ... most chlorine deaths are chalked up to people just sitting there and dying in their homes ... but this makes no sense from a scientific perspective. Ooops. That makes these stories read more like (poorly-researched) fiction than like fact.

* 2.C Ghouta Massacre(s) {masterlist}

Victims assembled in Douma

Alleged: Sarin gas attack by rockets that killed over 1,400, allegedly - Damascus suburbs, August 21, 2013 - led to serious threats of US military attack.

Perhaps the best lead was discovered by an ACLOS ally in his own detailed study that established one batch of victims -in Kafr Batna - was almost surely gassed by rebels with carbon monoxide or hydrogen cyanide gas, in a rebel-held basement.  And one victim was executed by a cut throat in the morgue upstairs, after he survived, and in between propaganda videos blaming "Assad" for all of it. So a good guess is: "Assad" was responsible for none of it. See The Ghouta Massacre's Sarin Myth, Brightly Lit: Exploring Kafr Batna's... Rebel Gas Chambers? 

Other great leads along the same lines: 
* Visual Evidence that the victims were prisoners (of the rebels)
* Death Toll(s) and estimates - body recycling (interrelated, needs clarified)

* by district {masterlist} (12 districts considered in detail in 10 posts - victims from, died in, clinical signs, background and observations - 5 posts up, 5 pending, more overview pending. See Part 2 Jobar for a telling example)

* Zamalka district: medical and media staffs decimated? bizarre allegations considered
* The false-flag gassing of Alawite hostages seized from Latakia just days before... apparently didn't happen. See bottom of the post about them.
* Preceding events: quite troubling, in context: Was the Syria Chemical Weapons Probe "Torpedoed" by the West? (Yes! Re: March, 2013 Khan Al-Assal sarin attack, by rebels - written May 2013, with post-Ghouta incident notes added in 2016)

2.D The First Bodies Tossed Across Obama's Red Line
November 2012 to March, 2013, the first 43 people killed, on both sides, by Syrian CW attacks that now come under critical review, in 4 parts.And following the last of those ...
the Syria Chemical Weapons Probe was "Torpedoed" by the West  - check my May, 2013 prediction at the end of that.

3) Mass prison torture defector photos allegation
Fail Ceasar: Exposing the Anti-Syria Photo Propaganda 
This has been prominent recently, and is now well-covered - detailed and explosive report forthcoming.

 
4) UN-SARC Convoy Attack {masterlist}

signs torn off by Russian bombs?

This hasn't remained a central issue, but it is of some importance in context, and fairly well exposed. September 19, 2016: a truck convoy carrying medical aid is attacked, with perhaps everyone killed and most aid destroyed, allegedly by Russian or Syrian bombing. But they had powerful disincentives (the attack derailed a Russia-backed plan to widen the fight against Jabhat al-Nusra), and local Islamist rebels in turn had the real motive (to kill that cease-fire and keep their JaN allies protected). The supposed proof of a Russia-Syria attack apparently does not exist, and many signs say it could very well be the terrorists with the motive - and/or perhaps a sympathetic air force  - that carried out this false-flag attack.

5 Houla Massacre {masterlist}  

2014 report, best evidence

(Taldou, al-Houla, Homs, May 25, 2012) Alleged: 108 Sunnis killed, including 49 children, by army shelling and home invasions by Alawite Shabiha militia.

Instead, it seems "rebels" or "terrorists" did it, just after they took over all the town's security posts. This was the last part of Houla the rebels didn't hold yet. Check and see, they finally took Taldou too, and it happened on May 25, 2012. And despite rebels trying not to show that happening, carefully analysis of the few videos of the day they did release, shows rebels taking over on that day.

The witnesses who correctly describe the battle for the Houla Massacre say the victors killed Sunnis who converted to Shi'ism, Sunnis who supported the "Alawite regime," and - in a nearby town, killed by other rebels - Alawite civilians.

6 Al-Bayda and Baniyas Massacres, May 2013

Victims near the mosque, opp. photo

Alleged: Assad's Alawite Shabiha militias massacre Sunnis for no other reason in two Sunni-populated towns of an Alawite-majority province, in an almost universally accepted plan of ethnic-sectarian cleansing.
But surprise, the terrorists whose agenda is furthered by mayhem in every province of Syria - it seems - actually caused this mayhem as well. 

* Syria's al-Bayda-Baniyas Massacres and "Targeting Specific Communities" They killed a controversial, outspoken government loyalist Imam and dozens of his family, comprising at least half of all victims (counts are very complicated with this one, ranging from 70 to 250+) This seems to be the main target. Sunni, but no longer on the wrong side.

* Bayan Jalloul, Martyr for Truth? In the next massacre, the alleged Alawite militias did kill an alleged opposition activist and her family. The story tries to counter the one above, but it's bizarre and falls apart. Note: this time the 200 dead seems less debatable, but could well include laundered Alawite victims from the city, and maybe lots of them, depending.

40 male alleged attack victims gathered
by about the attack time (see here)

7 Douma Market Attack {Masterlist} with sub-posts - and/or see one month investigation review

August 16, 2015: an alleged government fighter jet missile attack on 3 crowded public farmer's markets - 550 wounded, 112-125 or more killed, Syrian government universally blamed, no proof there was a jet involved, and serious questions about what really happened.

Why does the pattern of alleged jet strikes look more like the arc of a surface rocket attack?

arc of attack mapped to firing loc. (see here)

Why is the given time of attack so vague, and why were many or most victims dead before the apparent time of attack?
Why did the bombs kill almost exclusively men and older boys? Why were they all put in mass graves?  Why are the injury/death types different for different genders and ages? How did a jet missile pull one boy apart like he was drawn and quartered, then burn just his face? Why does the "world community" not seem to care about any of these questions?

Related:
* Other Market Attacks (in Syria, overview)
* Precedents (more historical)

* Douma Cages: Genocidal Display or Twisted Hoax?
* October 30 Douma Market Attack
* September 21 Aleppo market attack
* Ariha market, Aug. 3, "massacre of the jet"
 
===

Other/General Posts
Syria, General
* "Mistakes" Behind 4 US Attacks on Syrian Forces - June 2017 shoot-down of SU-22, and three prior incidents- attack details, alleged mistakes by Syria, and clues of the true motive
* Shoukry al-Qouwatly Street Massacre, Or Perhaps Not?  A real WTF moment. (Aug 2016)

*  Syria Disaster Blame: "Assad" or the Regime Change Campaign?

* Responding to Eric Draitser's "Break the Silence" 

* White Helmets Covering up Genopcidal Massacres? 

*  Was the Syria Chemical Weapons Probe "Torpedoed" by the West? (Yes! Re: March, 2013 Khan Al-Assal sarin attack, by rebels - with post-Ghouta incident notes added in 2016)

* The "Assad Files," smuggled documents said to prove orders for mass torture, rigorously assessed, along with the key witness.

* Jaish al-Islam's way of protecting the Syrian people - on the Saudi-backed "Army of Islam" that was armed to threaten the capitol\, and their record of genocidal crimes against the people in their domain.


* Hussein Harmoush, FSA Defector Profile

* 2012, at the listing of JaN as a terrorist group - protest solidarity: we are all terrorists - a false visual summary (see right) of a real problem.

* Lessons for the Syria Situation: Old post, before any research on Syria, summarizing a few overall findings from Libya that it was thought might be relevant.

Strike on SAA in Deir Ezzour, Dec. 6, 2015

Specific Incidents (newest events first)
* Second ISIS conquest of Palmyra, late 2016: Did John Kerry Collude with ISIS?

* Crushed Women in Hama? September 2016

* Omran Daqneesh episode and related: "We Mustn't Turn Away" (August 21, 2016)

* Hayan Missile Massacre: August 12, 2016: 12 children and women killed by an air-strike ... or actually dumped here days after being executed, as the second part of a mass killing of a detained family. Jabhat al-Nusra (al-Qaeda terrorists) administer the area.

* Al-Quds Hospital blast: an Inside Job? East Aleppo, April 27, 2016. We can already see no air-strikes hit the building, but there explosions inside... and security video footage basically proves it was arranged from the inside.

* Coalition Airstrike on the Saeqa Army Base near Deir Ezzour, Dec. 6, 2015

* Ter Malla Massacre: al Qaeda or Russia/Syria Bombing?

* Comparing Terrorist Victory Massacres March-June, 2015 in Idlib province: ISIS Commits victory massacres, while Jabhat al-Nusra just finds them? June 10, 2015

* Braying to Assad  - later allegation based on an early 2014 event, unclear

* Laundering the Ma'an Massacre? Feb. 8-9, 2014

Harbinafsah, laundered?

* Syria: the Zanuba Massacre and the Harbinafsah Laundering Center? Hama province - tracing out what seems to be one method rebels have used to launder Alawite massacre victims as victims of regime shelling in a different town. (two oddly-anonymized child examples at right)

* Latakia Massacres, August 2013 (overview and links to 4 sub-posts)
** FSA-ISIS Teamwork in the Latakia Massacres? (August, 2013)
* The Hostages

* Ma'an Massacre, 2012: Did the Rebel Offensive Falter?
* Hama: Hasraya Checkpoint Abuse Video
* Hama: Mawas Family Massacre

* Daraya Massacre August 24-26, 2012, Damascus suburbs, claims of several hundred innocents killed as the army re-conquered a rebel-held suburb of Damascus. But it seems many were rebel fighters killed in that battle, and many others were civilian hostages held by rebels. Early post summarizing initial ACLOS research.

* Killing a Fireman in Syria, mid-2012, area unknown (Aleppo?)

* Re-Considering the case of Hamza Al-Khatib, Deraa, April/May, 2011

---
Refuting Reports (some repeated from above)
* MSF, on hospital bombings
* Amnesty Int'l on Sednaya prison mass hanging
* UN, on attack on UN-SARC aid convoy
* OPCW, on chlorine attacks 
* HRW, on chlorine attacks
* SNHR, on sectarian massacres ...

Districts of Homs city, ACLOS map

---
Homs Massacres Crash-Course

- Homs Massacres (April, 2011 through 2014 - app. 1,558 - 3,089 dead). Posted June 18 - a decent recap and partial summary of the massive ACLOS page and sub-pages, since expanded more.

- Reviewing "The Societys Holocaust" June 22, after noticing a new report by the opposition SNHR, publicized on June 19. This one one was about sectarian massacres nationwide, but wound up half of them were in Homs. Check out their coverage of the Aqrab Massacre ... of 6 Sunnis. From there, largely as linked at the review, a bunch of massacres in the Homs orbit I missed before, from the SNHR report - considered in posts here, and then added to the ACLOS project.

homes burning after Tasnin massacre

This all took just over a week, finished before July, listed in event order:
- Massacre of Fertilizer Plant Workers of May 31, 2012
- Joseyeh bus massacre June 12, 2012
- Qalat al-Hosn Massacre, June 2012 June  28
- Second Shammas Massacre Aug. 11/12, 2012
- Tasnin Massacre, Jan 5-6, 2013
- Mshierfa bus massacre Jan. 6, 2013
- Mallouk family massacre, May 17/18, 2013
- Sukhna Massacre, July 2013 (and follow-up in Adra, in December)

SAFMCD Named Victims: #CaesarPhotos Victim Profile

SAFMCD Named Victims: #CaesarPhotos Victim Profile
May 8, 2016
(incomplete)

A very few "Caesar" photo victims have names attached - I've found eleven, mainly in the "sporadic views" and  "unknown branch" folders, one in AF Intel.  This may be all there is. When these can be matched to detailed records, they tend to be soldiers, what we presume to be a disproportionate trend...

1) Arkan
The SAFMCD's sporadic views folder includes أركان-1-000 (1)

Date not given, possibly not as early as the others. This is a young man who wore military fatigues, fighting with some side. He was apparently shot in the torso, given a nasty knock on the head and taken prisoner by opposing forces, and then his right eye was perhaps popped out.  

The Arabic translates to the name Arkan - apparently incomplete  - this is not a family name,

but an uncommon personal one that translates "fighting." Only one VDC "martyr" is in possible frame - Arkan Mustafa al-Khalil from Tibet Al-Ima, Hama. He was killed 2013-01-08 by Shelling - and a civilian, not likely to wear camo. Not a good fit. No one named Arkan appears among FSA, ISIS, or other fighters classed as "martyrs" by the VDC.

There are twice as many options in the VDC's other and smaller database for 'regime fatalities' - Arkan Ghasan Kewan, a Second Lieutenant from  Sahwat Kheder, Sweida Province. killed 2013-03-04, by Shooting. Facebook Page (active!) (two photos of him, I guess, in parades, riding a horse, holding the Syrian flag and an odd one - seems to be a variant Druze flag, same pattern shown in miniature here. appears an older and different than the man seen here)

Arkan Mahmoud Khider Zaiton, from Homs. Date of death 2012-04-25 by Shooting. Rank Colonel Notes Source : SANA (no link). Colonel sounds older than seen, but maybe. This "Arkan" might not be listed, at least under that name. Is it just a way of saying this one died while fighting?
Add 2018:
https://shamquake.wordpress.com/2012/06/04/قتلى-ضباط-النظام-الكبار-خلال-شهرَي-نيس/
https://www.facebook.com/524874594220205/photos/a.524882160886115.119755.524874594220205/552132598161071/
http://www.arab-army.com/t59951p15-topic
(88) Col. Mahmoud Khader Zeitoun, from the village of Khirbet Ghazi, in the countryside of Homs, was killed in Hama (23/4) (SANA)
 

2) Mohammed Noureddine Salkini
j-4-2012 (1)محمد نور الدين سلقيني

This is from the Air Force intelligence folder. He's prisoner #4 from folder "2012?"? There's no such folder otherwise. Or no number, from 4-2012? There's also no April 2012 folder, aside from him. (see here). 

The Arabic translates Mohammed Noureddine Salkini. That name is mostly listed by the VDC as Noor Eddin Salqini. non-civilian. Rank: soldier. Nothing about defection is noted. Occupation Telecommunications Engineer. From Homs, Inshaat. Pre-death photo below at right. 

He was Killed by "Detention - Execution" on 2012-04-29 "After ten days of his arrest in his military unit." (in? by? along with?) How they know his death date from secret detention is unclear. But it would put him in the April 2012 time frame ...

What they did after they arrested him, whoever it was, left his lips purple, skin and eyes red/irritated, mucous crust in mouth and eyes, yellow staining from more mucous around mouth and nose. All this says he was gassed with something caustic like chlorine (see upcoming report...). 

3) Alaa Yahya Alddar Rabha
The "unknown branch" folder contains

الرحبة 563-علاء يحيى ست الدار-5-2012 (1) (shown at right).  

The Arabic comes out Alaa Yahya Alddar Rabha, with the 563 likely being his hospital number (unidentified body #563 re-branded as prisoner # of unknown branch - see FC7)

He's also listed by VDC, but again not with full name, and not even as a martyr. Army status here carried through - "regime fatalities' database includes Alaa Yahia Sit Al-Dar,  Rank: Soldier, from Homs. Citing a SANA article, they say he was killed 2012-05-20, by "shooting." The link doesn't work,  but http://fedaa.alwehda.gov.sy/node/139640 agrees. Autoi-translated, this lists "Rookie Alaa Yahya six House of Homs" as part of "The funeral of the bodies of 18 martyrs from the army and the maintenance of order and civilians," on May 22, 2012. 

To wind up among these photos, normally, he'd have to be briefly unidentified, separated from his team and found elsewhere. If that card only has numbers, then he was identified after. If that has his name, he doesn't belong among the "secret detainees" photos. 

4) Ismael Mumina

From the 'sporadic views' folder: 000-8-2011-اسماعيل مومنة (4)

like Salqini, apparent chemical victim - yellow crud from the nose and up the face, possibly mild cyanosis in lips or eye problems, otherwise not clear. 

The name here translates Ismael Mumina.  Searching the proper Arabic spelling, this one has two entries, one for after his non-secret death, another for when he was identified following the release of Caesar's photos (this one with the name built right in).  

Ismael Mumnah, from Qatana, Damascus Suburbs. Date of death     2011-08-27 Detention - Torture

Video of the martyr, posted September 4   (dark video, their still here) - not secretly buries but handed back to family and then seen by these activists - unless filmed by them before the body was dumped to find - certainly anytime in 2011 is a bit early for the eventual system to be in place - stupid moves might have ruled back then.

Another video shows he posed for lots of photographs,  wasn't big on smiling, but had a really zany mustache (before the war, I presume). 

Ismael Jamil Mumina Date of death     2015-03-09 Martyred under torture in the regime`s prisons, Date of death unknown accurately

5) Ahmed Hawas

Another I can match -up: 11-2011-Ahmed Hawas (1) that's translated - the Arabic is a partial name the VDC lists in full as  أحمد حواس الحريش الشمري  or Ahmed Hawas Al Hareesh Al Shemri, from Hasakeh,  Yaarebiyeh Hareesheh. No picture to compare, but the name is unique, can hardly be a coincidence. Consistently, it says he died from "Detention - Torture." Actual cause of death, unclear. Apparently related to the detention part: "Wounded by shot."  Date of death is a bit later - 2011-12-15 - same guy listed late here or early there seems most likely.

No Match? 

6) 261-1-2012-Musa Hammoud (4)-332262

7) Abdul Rahman Al-Harira- 02112012-intelligence department (3)-364778 

(possible or near-match - notes forthcoming)
http://www.vdc-sy.info/index.php/en/details/martyrs/40828#.Vy1wxr6rH-s?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6v7TZLPiOBQ
Abd al-Samad al-Hariri
Age     56
Family Status     Married and has 6 children
Area     Daeel
Occupation     Pharmacist
National Number    
ID Card number    
Date of death     2012-11-01
Martyrdom location    
Cause of Death     Shooting
Rank    
Notes     martyred by regime's random gunfire

The others (forthcoming)

8) 03062012 Saleh-Zahra (1)-966746
9) 03062012-Khaled Shaaban (7)-621591
10) 06082012-Ahmed Mohamed (2)-966077
11) Ibrahim al-Hur 1-2012-990937

Any I missed? 

Hamza al-Khatib: "Abu Hamza" Tells it for Real

Hamza al-Khatib: "Abu Hamza" Tells it for Real
May 1, 2016
(last edits May 5)

I just finished comparing the evidence for how Hamza al-Khatib spent May, 2011 - tortured in unseen captivity or in refrigerant-delayed rot ... no one could know what happened after April 29, when activists say he was arrested. They couldn't know when he died and how, and the dark colors and possible bloating of his body in late May suggested he'd been dead for some time - maybe even back to late April, shortly before his "arrest" as unidentified body #23.

Then I noticed a video I'll have to add, but summarized - I'll have to cut most of this amazing material there, and this just barely deserves its own post to fail in its full glory.
Syria: A witness tells the complete story of killing Hamza al Khateeb. (#AssadWarCrimes) posted by Bashar Assad Crimes Archive, with English subtitles. Original channel: Al-Arabiya?

A special relationship with an amazing human being.

Abu Hamza al-Doumani is a pseudonym this guy at right uses. It means father of Hamza, from Douma. He says he was arrested April 12, 2011, from his makeshift medical clinic (in Douma?). He was taken in for providing medical care, which the regime hates. He was held 5 months, up to September 10, 2011, "a month" of which he spent with Hamza al-Khatib (0:49). Unlike Hamza, in the end, he was released to tell everything.

The boy's death date is not specified, but apparently near the very end of a longest-possible time of just under a month total. Mr. Doumani says Hamza was first transferred from Daraa to Sweida, then to Damascus, where he was killed, before his body was sent back to Deraa for the handover to his family. And this alleged witness says he was there for the whole majority time in Damascus.

Well, most of that time. When Doumani was moved from branch 293 to branch 248, date not specified, he says he was put in cell #4 with 88 people, including Hamza (he was already there) and 14 other children. Hamzah is said to be taken by AF intel in Deraa, but he was allegedly handed over to 248 by the end. This was their central Damascus branch, on al Tawjeeh street, between Kafersosa and al Mazza area.

"I recognized him at first sight," Doumani says of Hamza. He recognized what at first sight? The boy wasn't famous yet. Did he recognize, upon entering the false memory chamber, that this was the kid he needed to come up with the story about? If so, good job, but you aren't supposed to brag about that. He must mean he instantly noted the boy's special gifts (because Doumani himself has a gift for sensing this!).

He recalls the boy was 12 to 13 years old, with no facial hair. But Abu Hamza says he was  "impressed with his courage and steadfastness" as men were tortured to death around them. He admired the boy's adult-like and "sober" thinking, and his latent wisdom. He was, we could say, the very best of humanity, who was able to see clearly past the muck and the fear that plagues most adults. "I still remember him now," Doumani says in awe. "When I was set free I called myself Abu Hamza," father of Hamza, in honor of his immense courage.

A record of torture.

Doumani heard that when Hamza was transferred to Sweida, he was tortured there with "the chair," which involves the abdomen and must explain the recently-bruised belt-line seen in his morgue photos. Because of this, he says, there was already blood in his urine before he arrived in Damascus, and he repeats this as if it's important.

"We were tortured together" at 248, Doumani says, hanged by their wrists "between heaven and earth." Hamza was hanged there for 11 days, he for 17 days. Such a hefty kid, hanged for 11 of his last days, should show major wrist damage. None is really visible in the morgue photos. Doumani clashes with the physical evidence here.

Note: Doumani doesn't how any wounds of his own to prove the torture. Not that he should have to, nor that it would prove anything anyway - some method actors go that far (I suspect "Mazen Hamada" is an example). This one, however, seems far too lazy. I'm fairly sure "Abu Hamza al-Doumani" has no marks to show.

He says they were also both hanged upside down and hit with 220 volts of electricity until "our (heads) hit the ceiling." The photos are unclear about Hamza's ankles. He says this was done to 4 people, Hamza, him, a guy from Hama named Nizar Ma'lool, and someone else.

Hamza's final showdown with evil.

Mr. Doumani seems to know the name and hometown of every prisoner and every guard and interrogator at this place. The chief interrogator, he says, was a Captain Shiraz Khalaf, from Golan heights. He left the detainees' eyes uncovered durin interrogation, wanting to be recognized, from some psychological quirk. He also made other prisoners stand outside his office while he interrogated people, with the door open, to psychologically torture the others (5:30). And so, when Hamza was killed in Capt. Shiraz's office, Doumani says, "I was standing at the door and it was open." That's why he saw the whole thing, see. 

The questioning was intense. Shiraz, and his assistant Philip, from Tartous, wanted Hamza to admit to raping officers' wivesin the Saida housing complex. He wanted the 12-year-old to admit he helped destroy the electricity generator in Dara'a, and helped attack a battalion in the fifth squad, take their weapons and attacked the soldiers. ("you mean the officers' residences I believe?" asks the host. "I think so, there is a battalion in Dara'a ... I don't know the geography.." he responds). 

Hamza was offered freedom for admitting to being a terrorist, but he refused. "Give me a paper to sign, but never say anything on my behalf," Douman recalls the boy saying. Finally, they changed the challenge. Shiraz took down his portrait of president Assad, and ordered Hamza to kneel to it and accept him as his God. "this word is still ringing in my ears!" (8:43) He could go free and the torture could end. But the mighty Hamza looked at both of them, with a masterful stare, and laughed in mockery. Then, he pulled down his pants and urinated right on the picture "that's how I kneel," he told them with the calm certainty of the gladly doomed.

Of course, Shiraz and Philip were driven to an uncontrollable rage, but didn't shut the door. They and the helping soldiers were totally unembarrassed at the response; this is the death cult in action, openly demonic. Doumani and the others watched helplessly as Shiraz tied Hamza's genitals ("gentiles") with string, and and then cut off his penis with a knife "in front of us. I swear that I myself witnessed that." And now we know exactly why they did it.

Just before that, Shiraz poured fluids in the boy's mouth, 10-12 liters of soda, water, unknown. This might be what made him suddenly fat (apparently he wasn't before? Looked like the younger photo? Is this just who he "recognized"?). Or maybe this was to make him look bloated, maybe to darken him too and simulate early decay (fluid is unknown, likely magic). "His body started to swell" as they filled him up with it. Distorted and Orca-fied, and after the castration - Hamza was apparently stoic and "Braveheart" this whole time - they fatally shot him 3 times inside the office. Then they had a smoke, and started putting out numerous cigarettes on him, to "empty (his) body of water." 

The host seems less than convinced at points, and at the end makes "Abu Hamza al-Doumani" reiterate that he really means all of that, for history, for the world. Yes, he swears on his good name, the whole infidel world should hear this message.