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CNN Confirms Syrian 'Prisoner' Salama Mohammad Salama in Clarissa Ward's Report Was Assad Regime Intelligence Officer from Homs

Dec 17, 2024, 02:30 PM

CNN has confirmed that a man featured in a video report as a Syrian prisoner rescued from a secret Damascus jail was actually Salama Mohammad Salama, a former intelligence officer in the Assad regime. The video, which initially portrayed Salama as a civilian named Adel Gharbal from Homs, was part of a segment led by CNN's chief international correspondent Clarissa Ward. The report aimed to find missing US journalist Austin Tice but instead highlighted the discovery of Salama in a locked cell. Subsequent investigations revealed that Salama, also known as Abu Hamza, had been a first lieutenant in the Syrian Air Force Intelligence and was notorious for managing security checkpoints in Homs, where he was accused of theft, extortion, and coercing residents into becoming informants. CNN's confirmation came after facial recognition software matched a photograph of Salama provided by a resident of Homs with the man in the video. The network is now investigating how its reporters were misled by Salama's false identity.