On May 12, the Facebook page “World News” spread information claiming that an Israeli citizen had been arrested in Russia for planning a terrorist attack. The user included a photo in the post showing a man in handcuffs being detained.
The claim that the man shown in the shared photo is an Israeli citizen arrested in Russia for planning a terrorist attack is disinformation. In reality, the man was arrested in Syria and is a local resident. According to official information, he was detained for alleged ties to Syria’s former president Bashar al-Assad and for participating in attacks for that reason.
The photo of the man circulated on social media can be found on several Arabic-language websites and social media pages. Notably, “World News” did not publish the original full-sized photo. The image had its Arabic inscription cropped out, which clearly stated that it was taken in Syria, specifically at the Directorate of Public Security in Latakia. In the full version of the photo, the Arabic text reads, “Directorate of Public Security / Security Directorate of Latakia, Southern Region.”
Identical images were also published by Syria-based media outlets. The Syrian Press Center, local TV channel Syria TV, and regional platform Latakia News reported that the man was a member of the pro-Assad military organization “Coastal Shield Brigade.” This is also confirmed by the Latakia governor’s press office. According to media reports, police had been monitoring the man for several days and finally detained him while he was riding a motorcycle in the city. He is accused of membership in the “Coastal Shield Brigade” and of playing a significant role in attacks on security and military checkpoints in the city.
Furthermore, there is no information in English or Russian sources indicating that an Israeli citizen has been arrested in Russia for planning a terrorist attack.
On December 8 of last year, the rule of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria came to an end, and Ahmed al-Sharaa assumed leadership of the country. The Assad family had ruled Syria since the 1970s. Several military groups participated in the regime change, and the Assad family’s rule ended after the capital, Damascus, was seized by these groups. After leaving Syria, Bashar al-Assad received asylum in Russia. In recent months, there have been numerous clashes between supporters of Assad and al-Sharaa. The largest of these was the confrontation that began on March 6. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights’ March 9 report, the number of casualties in the clashes approached 1,000. Myth Detector has verified numerous pieces of false information and visual manipulations related to the conflict in Syria.
About the source:
The Facebook page “World News” frequently spreads misleading information and visual manipulations. In addition, Myth Detector has identified that during the recent conflict in Syria, the page was notable for spreading anti-Western narratives. It labeled the forces involved in the clashes as terrorists funded by the European Union and the United States and portrayed the events as persecution against Christians in Syria.
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