Commanders of the Syrian Air Force never been 'so carefully selected', as the last appointments list shows which includes name of the military pilot who carried out the deadly Khan Sheikhoun chemical attack last week where hundreds of people killed and affected.
The 18th commanders of Syrian military airfields and strategic air base were a fellow Bashar al-Assad's Alawites sect and from his heartland coastal province after the isolation of all "questionable" air commanders.
Commanders known for their strong loyalty to al-Assad, most descended from pro-close circles of the Assad himself.
A military source and former commander in Syria's Air Force told Zaman al-Wasl the new appointments list is the first 'fully sectarian' since Hafez al-Assad became the de facto ruler of Syria on February 23,1966.
The list includes the commanders of the 18 airfields in addition to Brig. Gen. Mohammad Yousef Hasouri, Chief of Staff and deputy commander of Shayrat airfield, also known as the 50th Brigade, from which it said a deadly chemical weapons attack had been launched last Tuesday and killed at least 103 people in Khan Sheikhoun town in Idlib province.
The air base that was hit by 59 U.S. Tomahawk cruise missiles in a disciplinary act by Donald Trump's administration.
U.S. Navy Admiral Michelle Howard said the strikes had destroyed the means to deliver chemical weapons from that base, and the U.S. military remained ready to carry out further strikes if needed, Reuters reported.
Gen. Hasouri is believed to be the commaner who took off with his Su-22 (Dubbed: Quds 1) on Tuesday and bombed Khan Sheikhoun with Sarin gas. The man who is still operating the airbase in defiant to world consciousness, source added.
Hasouri came from the 827 Sukhoi Squadron at the T-4 airport in the eastern countryside of Homs until mid-2014, where he moved to Shayrat Airport as a commander of 685 Squadron(Su-22 M3).
After being promoted to the rank of Brigadier on 1/1/2015, he was appointed Chief of Staff 50th Brigade on 1/1/2016, and was appointed deputy commander of the 50th Brigade 2016.
The same sources describe Hasuri as "one of the biggest war criminals in Syria," revealing that he has so far carried out more than 3,500 raids, mostly in Aleppo.
Syrian air force moves warplanes to civil airports: source
Meanwhile, Syrian air force is moving its warplanes to the Russian-controlled Hmeimym airbase in Latakia province and to the civil airports over fears of new U.S. air strikes, military source told Zaman al-Wasl.
The International airports of Damascus, Qamishli and Aleppo to be a substitute of military airports, source added.
Friday's strikes have left small damage, source added. The runway has been left undamaged and the destroyed six MiG-23 fighter jets were under repairs.
Even more, two Su-22 warplanes took off from Shayrat air base on Friday hours after it was struck by 59 U.S. Tomahawk cruise missiles and bombed targets nearby, activists said.
Syrian rebels said the Su-22 warplanes had landed later in Dumeir airport, 46 km (30 miles) east of Damascus.
