A Murder Mystery in Syria

What happens when a cloak-and-dagger general is shot dead in an Arab country where the regime is secretive and the press regularly gagged? It ignites a blogosphere bonanza. The assassination early this month of Syria's Mohammed Suleiman got limited coverage in the printed press, but it spawned streams of commentary on Web sites devoted to the Middle East and to military matters. Suleiman, who was killed while vacationing at a resort on the Mediterranean coast, was a close confidant of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Nicknamed "the imported general" for his pale complexion and foreign looks, Suleiman had been linked to some of Syria's most criticized policies and programs, including its dealings with North Korea and Iran, an alleged nuclear facility that Israel bombed last year, and its support for Lebanon's militant Hizbullah group. He'd been a key aide to Assad since the mid-1990s. Among the more intriguing whodunit theories circulating: Iran whacked him to avenge the death earlier this year of master bomber Imad Mughnieh, or Assad ordered him killed because Suleiman knew too much about the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri.

In Washington, three current and former officials familiar with the Middle East told NEWSWEEK that Israel's Mossad has to be near the top of any shortlist of suspects. All refused to be identified discussing sensitive matters.

Israel has long complained that Syria funnels Iranian arms to Hizbullah and gives the group rockets from its own arsenal. (Both Syria and Iran say their ties to Hizbullah are their own business.) An Israeli diplomatic source told NEWSWEEK last week that Suleiman was Syria's main liaison to the group and had helped Hizbullah triple its arsenal of rockets and missiles in the past two years. But a spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, asked about Suleiman's assassination, said Israel had "no direct knowledge and no comment on this matter."