On August 25th, Dr. Anas Abdul Razak, the governor of Hama, Syria, was a passenger in a convoy when his car exploded.



The Islamist militant group, Jabhat al Nusra, known to English audiences as the Nusra Front, has claimed responsibilty for Razak’s death.

Those familiar with my blog know Jabhat al Nusra to be a leading player in the rebel opposition to Syrian president Bashar al-Assad’s regime.



When reports of Razak’s death first came out, no group or individual claimed responsibility. Jabhat al Nusra was prevalent in the area, but they refrained from speaking about the event…until now.

According to Rueters, Jabhat al Nusra had monitored Razak’s movements for a month before it struck.

A quote from the group:

“After, one of the heads of the criminal regime, the governor Anas (Abdul Razak) Na'em, would fall along with several of his colleagues, and all praise and gratitude are due to Allah.”

The attack was part of Jabhat al Nusra’s “An Eye for an Eye” campaign. This campaign was started after the chemical weapon attacks in Douma, Damascus. Earlier this week, Jabhat al Nusra claimed responsibility for another attack on Syrian leadership.

In a statement made available to the public, Jabhat al Nusra claimed responsibility for the death of Colonel Hasan Khashir, the head of the Aleppo National Defense Forces. Colonel Khashir was killed in eastern Aleppo on August 27th.

According to the statement, an IED bomb

“rid the Muslims of evil after the passage of [Khashir’s] car,”

and it

“preceded to turn his body to pieces and his car into parts, spewing the engine about five meters away from the car from the force of the blast.”

Here is a picture of his vehicle:

and another close up: