CNN finally names 'freed' Syrian prisoner as Assad officer — but sidesteps responsibility for reporting error



CNN finally confirmed the real identity of the man in its emotional alleged rescue video shared last week.

On Monday, the news outlet published an article acknowledging that the man who presented himself as Adel Gharbal in a video by chief correspondent Clarissa Ward was, in fact, Salama Mohammad Salama, also known as Abu Hamza, a first lieutenant in Syrian Air Force Intelligence under Bashar al-Assad.

However, neither CNN nor Ward acknowledged any fault or offered an explanation regarding their failure to verify the man's identity in the initial report. Instead, they appeared to present the information as a new discovery.

'We can confirm the real identity of the man from our story last Wednesday as Salama Mohammed Salama.'

Last Wednesday, the news outlet aired an alleged rescue video of a man who claimed to be a Syrian civilian who had been locked in a secret prison for three months. After a Syrian rebel guard reportedly shot off the cell's padlock, Ward and her news crew discovered the man inside, hiding underneath a blanket.

The man stated that he had not consumed any food or water in several days and had not seen sunlight in months. However, viewers raised questions about the man's clean, well-groomed appearance.

Verify-Sy published a report on Sunday stating that it had uncovered the man's true identity. It claimed he was not a Syrian civilian as he had presented but an officer for Assad.

Locals told the news outlet that Hamza was "involved in theft, extortion, and coercing residents into becoming informants." He had reportedly been incarcerated "due to a dispute over profit-sharing from extorted funds with a higher-ranking officer."

In response to the bombshell report, CNN stated, "We have subsequently been investigating his background and are aware that he may have given a false identity."

"No one other than the CNN team was aware of our plans to visit the prison building featured in our report that day. The events transpired as they appear in our film," CNN continued. "The decision to release the prisoner featured in our report was taken by the guard — a Syrian rebel."

CNN published an article on Monday confirming Verify-Sy's reporting.

"A man who was filmed by CNN being released by rebels from a Damascus jail was a former intelligence officer with the deposed Syrian regime, according to local residents, and not an ordinary citizen who had been imprisoned, as he had claimed," the article read.

CNN stated that it obtained a photograph that "points to the man's real identity — said to be a lieutenant in the Assad regime's Air Force Intelligence Directorate, Salama Mohammad Salama."

The outlet said it could not verify why the man was detained in the prison, but Verify-Sy reported he had been incarcerated for less than a month.

"Rebel guards handed him over to the Syrian Red Crescent. The medical relief organization later posted a picture of him on social media, saying they had returned a freed prisoner to relatives in Damascus," CNN stated. "Salama's current whereabouts are unknown."

Ward provided a short statement on X linking to CNN's article.

"We can confirm the real identity of the man from our story last Wednesday as Salama Mohammed Salama," she wrote.

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CNN duped? 'Freed' Syrian prisoner allegedly revealed as Assad's violent henchman: Report



CNN may have been duped, according to a report from Verify-Sy. Last week, the news network aired an emotional rescue video of an alleged Syrian prisoner who claimed he was held captive for months.

The video of the alleged rescue went viral, but now CNN says it is investigating the man's identity.

'He may have given a false identity.'

In the video, chief international correspondent Clarissa Ward entered a former Syrian prison where she stumbled upon one cell that was still locked.

CNN's investigative team was instructed to briefly turn its cameras off while a Syrian rebel guard shot the lock off of the door.

The team found a man hiding underneath a blanket inside the otherwise empty cell.

The individual identified himself as Adel Gharbal from Homs and claimed to be a Syrian prisoner who had been held captive for three months and had not eaten or drunk any water in four days.

Verify-Sy questioned whether CNN fabricated the story, pointing out inconsistencies in the man's appearance and behavior when compared to individuals who have endured long-term confinement and torture.

"The man, hidden under a blanket despite the gunshots used to break his cell lock, claimed he had not seen sunlight for three months. However, his reaction to the light did not match such a claim — he did not flinch or blink even when gazing up at the sky, seemingly overjoyed at his newfound 'freedom,'" Verify-Sy wrote.

"Despite the purported harsh treatment of detainees in secret prisons, Gharbal appeared clean, well-groomed, and physically healthy, with no visible injuries or signs of torture — an incongruous portrayal of someone allegedly held in solitary confinement in the dark for 90 days," the outlet added.

CNN's report did not appear to question any of the inconsistencies.

Ward wrote in a post on X, "In nearly twenty years as a journalist, this was one of the most extraordinary moments I have witnessed."

Verify-Sy claimed that the man's real name is Salama Mohammad Salama, who is known as Abu Hamza, a first lieutenant in Syrian Air Force Intelligence under Bashar al-Assad.

Homs residents told the news outlet that Hamza was "frequently stationed at a checkpoint in the area's western entrance, infamous for its abuses." Hamza was allegedly "involved in theft, extortion, and coercing residents into becoming informants."

The sources further claimed that Hamza was incarcerated "due to a dispute over profit-sharing from extorted funds with a higher-ranking officer."

Verify-Sy stated that Hamza was responsible for the torture, detention, and slaughter of civilians. Residents told the outlet that he is attempting to gather sympathy by claiming he was "forced" into committing the crimes.

Ward stated that CNN had not been in contact with the man since he departed the scene with the Red Crescent. Additionally, she noted that he declined the opportunity to phone his family members immediately following the alleged rescue.

A spokesperson for CNN told TheWrap, "We have subsequently been investigating his background and are aware that he may have given a false identity."

"No one other than the CNN team was aware of our plans to visit the prison building featured in our report that day. The events transpired as they appear in our film," CNN continued. "The decision to release the prisoner featured in our report was taken by the guard — a Syrian rebel."

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CNN interviewed top ISIS-K commander who made brazen threat two weeks before terror attack at Kabul airport



Two weeks before ISIS-K launched an attack outside the Kabul airport, CNN's chief international correspondent, Clarissa Ward, spoke with a senior ISIS-K commander who allegedly promised to "restart operations" after the Taliban took control of Afghanistan.

Tragically, that threat became reality on Thursday when ISIS-K launched an attack outside the Kabul airport where evacuation operations were ongoing. That attack killed 13 United States service members and more than 160 Afghanistan civilians.

What are the details?

The interview was conducted just days before Kabul fell to the Taliban several weeks ago. According to Ward, ISIS-K was already in the city, "lying low and waiting for its moment to strike — words that turned out to be eerily prophetic."

The commander, whose real identity was masked but was called Abdul Munir, is from Kunar Province in east Afghanistan, which borders Pakistan. Speaking with Ward from a Kabul hotel, the commander said he and his men used to fight for the Taliban, but joined the Islamic State because they believed the Taliban was not implementing pure Sharia law.

The commander explained ISIS-K was exploiting the Taliban's swift takeover of Afghanistan by engaging in a large-scale recruitment drive, and promised to "restart operations" once the takeover was complete.

"That moment has now come, as the world saw all too clearly on Thursday," Ward said in the video.

Now that ISIS-K "operations" have been restarted, Ward explained the goal of ISIS-K is to "undermine" the Taliban. By launching attacks, the terrorist group is doing just that, eroding the allusion that a Taliban government can guarantee security.

Anything else?

The U.S. military conducted a strike on Friday against the ISIS-K terrorist purportedly responsible for planning the attack outside the Kabul airport.

"U.S. military forces conducted an over-the-horizon counterterrorism operation today against an ISIS-K planner," U.S. Central Command spokesman Capt. Bill Urban, USN, said in a statement. "The unmanned airstrike occurred in the Nangarhar Province of Afghanistan. Initial indications are that we killed the target. We know of no civilian casualties."

Shockingly, State Department spokesman John Kirby admitted Friday the Taliban released "thousands" of ISIS-K terrorist from Afghanistan prisons.

During a press briefing, Fox News national security correspondent Jennifer Griffin asked, "How many ISIS-K prisoners were left at Bagram and believed to have been released from the prison there and why weren't they removed before the U.S. pulled out to some place like Gitmo?"

"Well, I don't know the exact number. Clearly, it's in the thousands when you considered both prisons," Kirby responded. "Because both of them were taken over by the Taliban and emptied."

CNN reporter slams Biden's disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal with the perfect description



CNN reporter Clarissa Ward, the network's chief foreign correspondent, chose the consummate word to describe President Joe Biden's disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal as she waited to depart Kabul on Friday.

What did Ward say?

While waiting inside the Kabul airport compound for her flight to Qatar, Ward — who had become the face of on-the-ground reporting from Kabul since the Taliban overtook the city — succinctly described Biden's withdrawal as an utter "failure."

"These kids behind me, sleeping on the gravel on a piece of cardboard box, are the lucky ones because there are many others, thousands of them, just outside the perimeter," Ward began. "I saw with my own eyes the Taliban fighters beating them, mothers throwing their babies trying to get them inside the airport compound.

"It is just a picture of desperation– of failure, as well, failure to protect our allies, failure to plan for this eventuality," she proclaimed.

Ward explained there is "a lot of bitterness" among people in Kabul that "every eventuality was not planned for, that evacuations did not begin earlier."

"Seeing these scenes, seeing this heartache, seeing this desperation, and seeing this chaos," Ward continued, "you have to ask yourself: 'Surely there was a better way, surely there was a better way.'"

CNN Reporter On Botched Afghanistan Withdrawal: “Failure To Protect Our Allies, Failure To Plan” www.youtube.com

Prior to departing Afghanistan, Ward directly contradicted Biden's claim that Americans trapped in Afghanistan were not experiencing difficulty reaching the Kabul airport.

"Working out how to get into this airport is like a Rubix cube," Ward said. "It's very difficult. It's very difficult. It's not a simple process at all."

"Technically, it's possible, but it's extremely difficult — and it is dangerous," Ward added.

Anything else?

Ward and her CNN team landed safety in Doha, Qatar, shortly before midnight EST on Saturday.

"Just landed in Doha with the team and nearly 300 Afghan evacuees. Huge thanks to all of you for your support and concern, to the US Air Force for flying us out and to Qatar for welcoming us. We are the lucky ones," Ward said.