Suhayl al-Hasan

Major General Suhayl al-Hasan (Arabic: سُهَيْلُ الْحَسَنِ, romanized: Suhayl al-Ḥasan; born 10 June 1970) is a Syrian military officer, formerly serving as the commander of the Syrian Arab Army's Special Forces. He graduated from the Syrian Air Force academy in 1991, and served in many units in the Syrian Air Defence Force Command, completing several training courses. Following his service in the Syrian Air Force and Air Defence units, he joined the Air Force Intelligence service, where he was responsible for the training of the elements of the Special Operations Section. During the Syrian Civil War, al-Hasan has served and commanded his troops during several major engagements, including Operation Canopus Star and the battle for the Shaer gas field. He is part of the new generation of field Syrian army commanders who emerged during the civil war. In 2015, French newspaper Le Monde mentioned al-Hasan as a potential rival to Assad as leader of Syria.

Al-Hasan was described by analysts as preferring Russia (as opposed to Iran) to serve as the Syrian Government's main ally during the civil war and subsequent post-war reconstruction. His position is contrasted by Maher al-Assad, brother of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad and head of Syria's Republican Guard and 4th Armoured Division, who is reported as preferring Iran. After the fall of the Assad regime in 2024, Al-Hasan went into hiding.