Syria’s liaison with U.N. nuclear inspectors has been assassinated.
“The reason that Syria has been late in providing additional information (is) that our interlocutor has been assassinated in Syria,” Mohammed ElBaradei, the director of the International Atomic Energy Agency told the IAEA board in a meeting Thursday, according to a recording obtained by the French news agency.
ElBaradei did not name the liaison, but AFP speculated that he might be Mohammed Sleiman, the chief of security for Syrian President Bashar Assad and the country’s liaison with the Hezbollah terrorist group in Lebanon. He was assassinated last month.
ElBaradei said the liaison’s assassination was part of the reason for a delay in a report on Syria’s nuclear capabilities. Western nations, led by the United States, are pressing the IAEA for answers on Syria’s nuclear capabilities.
The inspections were sparked by an Israeli bombing raid on Syria a year ago; U.S. officials have confirmed that the raid destroyed a nuclear reactor.
