Syria arrests 2013 Reyhanlı attack suspect

DAMASCUS

This photograph shows the aftermath of the bomb attacks that took place in the Reyhanlı district of Hatay, Türkiye, on May 11, 2013.

Syrian intelligence authorities have arrested Ali Kayalı, also known as Miraç Ural, the chief suspect in the 2013 Baniyas massacre and in the bombing in Türkiye’s Hatay, as he was trying to flee across the border, state media reported on Oct. 15.

The Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) said the General Intelligence Directorate detained Kayalı, who is accused of playing a leading role in the May 2013 massacre in the coastal Syrian city of Baniyas.

The report did not specify where the arrest took place or which border Kayali was attempting to cross.

Kayalı, a former militia leader loyal to Syria’s then-leader Bashar al-Assad, has long been accused of involvement in the mass killings of civilians in Baniyas and the nearby village of al-Bayda in western Syria during the early years of the country’s uprising.

His arrest came less than two weeks after Syrian counterterrorism authorities detained Jamal Trabulsi, his former deputy in the pro-Assad Syrian Resistance militia, on Oct. 4.

Syrian authorities have accused Trabulsi of taking part in military operations alongside forces loyal to Assad, including the 2013 massacres in Baniyas and al-Bayda.

On May 2, 2013, Syrian regime forces and allied militias stormed the village of al-Bayda in the Tartus province, killing hundreds of civilians.

Kayalı has also been implicated in the May 2013 twin bombings in Reyhanlı, in Türkiye’s southern Hatay province, which killed 53 people.

Following Assad’s ouster in December 2024, Syrian authorities have intensified efforts to arrest former regime officials and militia commanders accused of committing crimes against civilians during the country’s civil war.