Terrorists Recount Details of Crimes Committed in al-Zabadani Area

Terrorist Wardeh Sleiman confessed to being an accomplice to acts of murder, abduction, robbery and extortion in cooperation with two terrorist groups, one of them led by her ex-husband, while Mohammad Burhan, a member of these groups, confessed to taking part in murder, abduction, rape and robbery.

In confessions broadcast by the Syrian TV, terrorist Sleiman said that she married Ahmad Dib al-Kuwaifi in 2007 and were divorced in 2009, and then she married another man after al-Kuwaifi was imprisoned for forgery for two years.

Sleiman, who was born in al-Zabadani in 1982 and works as a hairdresser, said that al-Kuwaifi wanted to exact revenge and asked her to lure her new husband, Jalal al-Haj Hamo, to extort him, and she complied out of fear.

She said that she arrived with her husband at the rendezvous point in Qudsaya where al-Kuwaifi was waiting with four men carrying automatic rifles and handguns, and al-Kuwaifi asked him for SYP 225,000 the latter owed him and the agreed that the money would be delivered later and Sleiman would be returned to her husband upon that.

She then stayed at a farm in al-Sabboura area for three days, where she saw around 40 gunmen, some of them she knew, and when they released her she went to her parents’ house where she learned that her husband was dead, so she contacted al-Kuwaifi who denied any involvement at first then confessed to murdering him and warned her that they will frame her for the crime.

A week later, one of the gunmen, Samer al-Tinawi, called Sleiman and told her that he will send someone to bring her back to the farm, and al-Kuwaifi instructed her to comply. She asked a microbus driver to take her to al-Sabboura, and upon arrival they abducted him and stole his car and asked her to leave.

Afterwards, she was instructed to get herself acquainted with a man who had money, and so she contacted him and they agreed to meet at a turnpike before going to a restaurant. Upon arriving there, gunmen from al-Hameh area arrived and abducted him.

She went on to recount a plot by al-Kuwaifi’s cousin Mohammad, Adham Burhan (who was introduced to al-Kuwaifi by Mohammad due to his “experience” which includes the abduction of a woman from al-Zabadani whom he raped and robbed of SYP 40,000) and his wife Nisreen Daro, with Nisreen suggesting they abduct a man called Firas Saqer who is rich and fond of her.

Nisreen lured Saqer to Mohammad’s house where he was abducted by gunmen and transported to the town of Deir Maqran, then they negotiated with his family for ransom, with one of his brothers offering himself as hostage while a second brother brought them SYP 900,000.

However, after taking the money, they decided to kill the two hostages because they knew too much. The gunmen kept the money with her why they decided how to settle disputes among them.

Sleiman went on to say afterwards, she accompanied al-Kuwaifi whenever he brought weapons to the terrorist in al-Hameh because cars with women are often not searched by security foces and the army, adding that al-Kuwaifi often hid wanted men in her home, and she would hear plans for bombings in al-Wuroud neighborhood and al-Mazzeh area.

For his part, terrorist Mohammad Burhan, who was born in al-Zabadani in 1985 and works as a construction worker, said he joined an armed group and bought an automatic rifle and two magazines, and that he met Ahmad al-Kuwaifi who in turn introduced him to the armed group from al-Hameh.

He confessed to participating in the abduction of Firas Saqer which Wardeh Sleiman detailed earlier, saying that originally they asked his family for SYP 3 millions and that two of the victim’s brothers came with a third person to negotiate, but that didn’t lead anywhere so they kept one of the brothers hostage while the other went and brought SYP 900,000, with al-Kuwaifi giving each of the gunmen who were present.

Burhan also confessed to accompanying one Issam Zami in his car to Bloudan turnpike, where they intercepted a car, a Ford, and abducted the passengers; Sultan Khattab and his wife.

He said that they stole the car, mobile phones and SYP 40,000 from the two and took them to Zami’s house in al-Zabadani, where his accomplice raped her.

Burhan also admitted that he urged two men, Tarek Okar and Ahmad Burhan, to rob houses in Bloudan that belonged to people from Damascus, and they did so and stole washing machines, refrigerators, a car and several other things.