Works for the Syrian government: Sarajevan monitors people from the Balkans fighting for ISIL

In the Sector for Combating Terrorism within the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Syria (Political Security Directorate of Syria – one of the Syrian security/intelligence services) since December 2014, a Sarajevan identified as S.Š. has been working, reports the Patria News Agency.

This citizen of Bosnia and Herzegovina, born in 1980, is also known by the nicknames Balkanjeros and Sanchez. 

He is a former employee of the British private security companies “Aegis Defence Services” and “Control Risks,” having worked in security roles for individuals and facilities in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya, where he provided security for high-ranking foreign diplomats, certain members of the Afghan government, and the American Embassy in Baghdad.

Among his primary operational tasks are monitoring and potentially “eliminating” individuals from the Balkans who are fighting on the side of the rebels or ISIL.

The exclusive reason for working for the Syrian regime is money, not ideological or political motivation, for which he receives “compensation” ranging from $10,000 to $15,000 per month. He is part of a group of trained individuals, “mercenaries,” from Croatia, Serbia, Montenegro, and Bosnia and Herzegovina who work exclusively for state security services from Iraq and Afghanistan to Syria, which distinguishes them from others who work for private companies or paramilitary units and organizations.

S.Š. himself graduated from the Secondary Police Academy in Sarajevo and received further education in Serbia and Slovenia.

He is also a former employee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina, where he worked in the service for the security of diplomatic and consular missions of Bosnia and Herzegovina abroad.