A prominent Syrian businessman close to President Bashar al-Assad, Baraa Katerji, was killed by an Israeli drone strike near the Syrian-Lebanese border. Katerji, who managed a vast empire dealing in oil and logistics, was targeted likely due to his role in facilitating Iranian oil shipments into Syria, which are under US-led sanctions. His assassination raises questions about Israel’s strategy, as such strikes usually focus on military targets, not individuals. The incident highlights the ongoing tensions in the region and Israel’s determination to disrupt Iranian influence in Syria.
Lebanese media and the Associated Press claim that an Israeli drone murdered a well-known Syrian businessman on Monday near the border with Lebanon. The guy had long been linked to Bashar al-Assad’s government.
The man, Baraa Katerji, and his bodyguard were killed instantaneously when a rocket struck their car on Monday night as it was approaching the Syrian-Lebanese border reports AP News.
He was probably singled out because he helped facilitate ‘illicit’ Iranian oil shipments into Syria and was subject to sanctions imposed by the US. Katerji managed an oil, transportation, logistics, and construction-based corporate empire.
Based on local sources, the AP reports that—
An official from an Iran-backed group said that Katerji was killed instantly while in his SUV on the highway linking Lebanon with Syria. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to speak to the media.
The pro-government Al-Watan daily quoted unnamed “sources” as saying that Katerji, 48, was killed in a “Zionist drone strike on his car.” It gave no further details.
Israel and the US have long tried to block Iranian energy and oil supplies. The people of Syria have been severely impacted by the sanctions for many years, and they are nearly entirely dependent on energy connections to Tehran.
The oil and gas deposits in northeastern Syria could have provided the fuel and energy needs of the Syrian people before the war, but the US has now controlled these areas for years. Long lines at gas stations and rolling blackouts are the results of this. Unprecedented levels of hunger and poverty have resulted from the collapse of the economy.
Israel has been hitting what it refers to as “Iranian assets” in Syria nearly every week; the most recent attack on Damascus occurred on Sunday and claimed the life of a Syrian soldier and three others injured.
According to a source, “The Israeli enemy carried out an aerial aggression from the direction of occupied Syrian Golan, while our Syrian Arab Army’s air defense systems intercepted the missiles launched by the Israeli enemy and downed some of them.”
Washington and Tel Aviv are steadfast in their determination to keep Syria’s infrastructure and economy in ruins and prevent it from ever being rebuilt.
Even if these attacks are now frequent, a drone strike targeting a single businessman is far less common. What specifically motivated Israeli intelligence to target Katerji is still unknown, but opponents of Damascus have long viewed him as a key player in the ‘elite’ Assad inner circle.
Recently, GreatGameInternational reported that in a tense escalation, a senior Hezbollah commander named Muhammad Nimah Nasser was killed by an Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon.
