Leaks Reveal the Structure, Leadership, and Funding of Al-Assad Regime Remnants
The hacking of the phone of Suhail al-Hassan — the former commander of special forces under the al-Assad regime — has revealed attempts by regime remnants to reorganize their ranks and plan large-scale operations in several areas of Syria.
According to a new media report, which it says is based on exclusive documents and recordings, an organizational structure has emerged for what it describes as “the remnants of the former Syrian regime forces,” known as “the remnants,” including the names of those heading the groups and senior officers within their leadership hierarchy.
The documents and recordings also disclose information about the military groups affiliated with the remnants, their numbers, their distribution across Syrian provinces — especially along the coast — their weaponry, and the ways in which they are supported and funded.
Al Jazeera reported that the files and details will be broadcast in greater depth later as part of the program “Al-Mutahari” on January 16.
The report displayed recent images said to show Suhail al-Hassan, the former commander of Bashar al-Assad’s special forces, as well as photos of his son Hassan, who currently lives with him in Russia and, according to the documents, assists him in communicating with former officers. It added that the locations were identified using the geographic coordinates of both their phones after being hacked.
According to the report, these files are part of hundreds of documents and recordings leaked to the program by a Syrian individual who managed to convince the leadership of the remnants that he was an Israeli officer seeking coordination and cooperation with them as a way to infiltrate their network.
The same source indicates that this individual carried out a series of hacks targeting the phones of senior former regime officers and held phone conversations with them under the pretext of supporting their movements along the coast and coordinating with them.
The program’s team reportedly spent “lengthy sessions” with the leaker to verify the authenticity and accuracy of the information. The documents reveal movements by senior former regime officers and their efforts to reorganize their ranks after the regime’s fall.
The organizational chart presented in the report places businessman Rami Makhlouf — a cousin of Bashar al-Assad — at the top of the hierarchy, followed by former Major General Suhail al-Hassan, the former commander of Syrian special forces, and former Brigadier General Ghiyath Dalla, previously commander of the 42nd Brigade.
Second-tier leaders in the structure include figures such as Ali Mahna, responsible for financial affairs; Saleh al-Abdallah, in charge of military affairs; and Ali al-Eid, tasked with coordination among the groups. Beneath them are leaders of local groups across different Syrian regions, particularly the coast, Hama, and Homs.
The report adds that the documents are supported by audio recordings of Suhail al-Hassan, dated between April and December 2025, in which he discusses the organizational structure and the number of fighters.
In one of the recordings, al-Hassan says: “We have many fighters, officers and soldiers,” adding, “Currently there is a decent, trustworthy man who is providing assistance — Mr. Rami Makhlouf.”
In other documents, the report shows a paper said to be in al-Hassan’s own handwriting, signed under the title “Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Armed Forces,” claiming he commands more than 168,000 fighters.
These alleged fighters are said to be deployed across multiple sectors and regions inside Syria, including: the city and countryside of Homs (central Syria), the al-Ghab area from Dorin to Salhab, eastern Hama, Jableh and Beit Yashout (west), as well as groups in Qardaha (west) and Damascus (south).
The report cites examples of specific groups named in the documents, including one led by Ahmad Seghati, operating in Masyaf, Latakia, and Tartus in western Syria, with an estimated 10,000 fighters.
It also mentions what it calls the “Homs Group,” led by Akram al-Souqi and affiliated with former Brigadier General Yasser Dalla, likewise estimated at around 10,000 fighters.
However, the hacker and leaker of the documents expressed doubt about these figures, noting tensions between Rami Makhlouf and Suhail al-Hassan, and suggesting that al-Hassan may have inflated fighter numbers to secure greater financial support from Makhlouf.
Additional documents obtained show that the funding mechanism for the groups tied to the remnants of the former regime relies on an organized financial network managed by Ahmad Dunya, described as the accountant and financial officer for both Suhail al-Hassan and Rami Makhlouf.
According to materials extracted from Dunya’s phone, he is directly responsible for delivering money and salaries to soldiers and group leaders deployed along the Syrian coast, and has personally handed funds to Ghiyath Dalla and other commanders.
These documents, dated May 2025, outline the scale of the funds disbursed, with detailed data on payment mechanisms and amounts allocated to each fighter, as recorded in the logs.
The documents also indicate that Suhail al-Hassan’s role is not limited to building a network of fighters inside Syria. Another handwritten document reveals the presence of around 20 former regime pilots, commanded by Air Force General Mahmoud Hassouri, living with their families in a hotel in Lebanon.
The document states that these pilots were transferred by Iranian authorities from Syria to Lebanon in preparation for sending them later to Iran, before they were eventually abandoned, leaving them with only hotel accommodation and one meal per day.
According to the same document, these pilots are seeking to join Suhail al-Hassan’s forces. The structure also shows their numbers and geographical distribution, along with what it describes as efforts to organize sabotage-oriented armed movements inside Syria.
Lebanon’s Deputy Prime Minister, Tarek Mitri, expressed concern on Friday over reports circulating in the media and among the public about suspicious movements by supporters of the former Syrian regime inside Lebanon.
Mitri, who also serves as Minister of State for Displacement Affairs, wrote on the X platform that “these developments require Lebanese security agencies to verify their validity and take appropriate measures.”
He added that “responsibility does not fall solely on the security agencies, but on everyone, in order to prevent any actions that could harm Syria’s unity or threaten its security and stability, whether inside Lebanon or originating from it,” without giving further details.
In this context, Mitri called for greater cooperation with Syrian authorities on the basis of mutual trust, respect for the sovereignty of both states, and shared interests.
Regarding armaments, the documents include images and detailed data on the scale, quantities, and types of weapons possessed by groups linked to Suhail al-Hassan and Ghiyath Dalla — including artillery, anti-armor missiles, rifles, RPG launchers, and other weapons.
Additional documents also explain how these weapons are distributed geographically among the various groups across Syrian regions.
According to the report, it is impossible to address what these groups are planning along the Syrian coast without mentioning the name Miqdad Ftiha, portrayed in the documents as a key figure who has repeatedly issued threats to coastal residents in recorded videos.
The documents reveal plans connected to the coastal incidents of March 2025, as well as new planned military operations. These were reportedly obtained from the phone of Tarek Faisal Ajeeb, described as the field commander of the remnants along the coast and directly linked to Ftiha, who leads the militia known as the “Coastal Shield Brigade.”
The documents indicate that Ajeeb and Ftiha operate under the authority of former Brigadier General Ghiyath Dalla and show phone calls and conversations between them.
In one recording, a fighter is heard asking Ftiha to cut the road between Latakia and Idlib, in addition to planning a new move along the coast.
The plans, according to the documents, are not limited to activities inside Syria. Another document states that Major General Suhail al-Hassan has prepared a large office in Lebanon’s al-Haysa area near the Syrian-Lebanese border, to serve as a headquarters for directing and managing military operations being prepared against the Syrian government.
The leaks further mention future plans involving non-Syrian elements, including the name Mahmoud al-Salman, a commander of groups holding Lebanese citizenship who previously took part in armed unrest. He is reportedly living in Dhahr Bashir and preparing to participate in what is described as a new armed movement.
On Wednesday, Syrian Interior Minister Anas Khattab issued firm messages to the “remnants of the defunct regime,” stressing that “the new state born from the path of liberation will not turn back for a single moment.”
This warning came after a series of bloody incidents in recent days attributed to gangs loyal to the ousted regime.
On Sunday, gunmen targeted security forces protecting demonstrations in coastal and central Syrian cities, resulting in four deaths and 108 injuries among security personnel and civilians in the city of Latakia.
On the same day, the provinces of Latakia and Tartus (west), along with Hama and Homs (center), witnessed demonstrations calling for “federalism and the right to self-determination,” following a terrorist attack on a mosque in a predominantly Alawite neighborhood in Homs that left eight people dead.
The new authorities in Syria stress that all communities are equal before the law and enjoy the same rights without discrimination.
They say the Syrian administration is intensifying efforts to restore security and establish control as part of broader plans to recover from the devastation of war, pursue reconstruction, stabilize the country, and move it toward a better future.
