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Kidnapper Killed and Another Injured.. Engineer and Merchant Freed from Gang's Grip in "Afrin"
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Repeated kidnapping operations indicate the transformation of Turkish-backed factions into criminal gangs exploiting civilians to collect money through illegal means
The "Afrin Now" page revealed details of a security incident that took place in Afrin city yesterday Monday, where a security operation targeted a kidnapping gang's den affiliated with the Hamza Division, which operates under Turkish-backed armed militias, in an area experiencing increasing security breakdown.
The news page explained that the operation resulted in the liberation of two kidnapped individuals: civil engineer Hassan Ibrahim Al-Khamis, who was kidnapped 13 days ago from Al-Hamdaniya neighborhood in Aleppo city, with demands for $100,000 for his release, in a recurring pattern of financial extortion practiced by armed groups.
The second victim was businessman Mohammed Ahmed Al-Humaidi, who specializes in livestock trade, who was kidnapped from his office in Al-Naqarin town in rural Aleppo. The kidnappers demanded a similar amount for his release, confirming an organized approach in kidnapping operations and ransom determination.
Sources reported that the operation, carried out yesterday evening, targeted the gang's headquarters in Afrin city, where the headquarters was surrendered after a limited exchange of gunfire between the group's members and security forces, resulting in the death of one kidnapper and the injury of another during the confrontation.
According to Syrian affairs observers, this operation is one of a series of ongoing crimes committed by Turkish-backed armed factions in northern Syria, where these groups have transformed from military factions into criminal militias practicing kidnapping, extortion, and imposing royalties.
Human rights reports indicated dozens of kidnapping cases recorded in areas under the control of Turkish-backed militias during the past months, with increasing targeting of businessmen, merchants, engineers, and capital owners to obtain large financial ransoms, in the absence of any deterrent measures by the Turkish authorities supervising these factions.
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