An Israeli airstrike near the Lebanese-Syrian border has resulted in the death of a prominent Syrian businessman, as reported by local media. Mohammad Baraa Qatarji was killed in the strike while traveling in a car on the al-Saboura highway near Damascus, according to Syrian state-aligned newspaper al-Watan.
Qatarji had been sanctioned by the US Treasury in 2018 and was on the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) list for his involvement in facilitating shipments of fuel and weapons to the Syrian regime. OFAC stated that Qatarji and his company were involved in trading fuel with the regime and ISIS, as well as providing oil products to ISIS-controlled territories.
The US Treasury website revealed that Qatarji had close ties with Syrian government officials, particularly in the ministries of oil and trade. Alongside his brothers Zahed and Hussam, who are also sanctioned by OFAC, Qatarji established a militia that supported the Syrian regime in Aleppo in 2016 and is alleged to have connections with Hezbollah.
OFAC disclosed that a Lebanese-based Syrian money exchanger, Tawfiq Muhammad Sa’id al-Law, had provided Hezbollah with cryptocurrency digital wallets earlier this year to facilitate transfers on behalf of the Qatirji Company. Additionally, Lebanon’s interior minister recently reported the abduction and killing of a Hezbollah-linked Lebanese currency exchanger in a villa, suspected to be the work of Israeli intelligence operatives.
The source has attempted to contact the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) regarding the airstrike but has not yet received a response.
