Ahmad Habib Ali allegedly supervised sarin production and chemical weapons stockpiles used against Syrian civilians.
Syrian authorities announced Wednesday the arrest of Col. Ahmad Habib Ali, a former senior official in Bashar Assad’s chemical weapons program and commander of Unit 417.
Ali reportedly headed a research facility linked to Syria’s Scientific Studies and Research Center, the organization responsible for developing and producing the Assad regime’s non-conventional weapons. He allegedly directly supervised the production and storage of the deadly nerve agent sarin.
According to the Syrian investigation, Unit 417 operated laboratories and major chemical weapons storage facilities near Damascus. Ali allegedly oversaw the production of approximately 20 chemical aerial bombs, each weighing 250 kilograms.