Syrian authorities have detained a number of suspects in the assassination of General Mohamed Suleiman, a security adviser to Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, the London-based pan- Arab newspaper Asharq al-Awsat wrote Tuesday.
Suleiman was shot dead by a sniper in the Syrian port city of Tartous on Friday.
Immediately after Suleiman's death, the scene of the killing was sealed off and several suspects were detained on the spot, the paper reported.
No official comment has been made regarding the assassination, which has sparked controversy over the motives and perpetrator behind the killing, reported dpa.
Anonymous Syrian sources were quoted by the paper as saying that just before his death Suleiman has been involved in "upgrading capabilities of the Syrian Army."
Suleiman, who is referred to as Assad's "right arm" and "shadow," was reportedly in charge of financing and arming the Syrian forces.
Suleiman's funeral was attended by a number of high-ranking Syrian officials.
According to Lebanese sources, Suleiman had close links with Lebanon's Hezbollah movement.
He served as Syria's liaison officer to Hezbollah and had very close links with Imad Mughaniyeh, the movement's former military commander, who was assassinated in February in Damascus.