From Mansourieh to Syrian Custody: Who Is Ali Kayali, Known as Mihrac Ural?

Ali Kayali, also known as Mihrac Ural, became the focus of a cross-border security case involving Lebanon, Syria and Turkey within hours, after Lebanese reports said he had been taken from his home in Mansourieh in the Metn district. Syrian authorities later announced that he was in their custody, while Turkish security sources said his arrest was carried out in a joint operation by Turkish and Syrian intelligence.

However, conflicting accounts remain over where and how he was detained. Damascus says he was arrested while attempting to flee across the border, while Lebanese sources say he was abducted from inside his home in Lebanon. So far, no official Lebanese statement has established that either Turkish or Syrian intelligence entered Lebanese territory to carry out the operation.

Ali Kayali, Mihrac Ural: What happened in Mansourieh?

The case began in Lebanon when MTV reported that unidentified individuals entered the home of a Syrian national in Mansourieh, in the Metn district, restrained his wife and son and took him to an unknown location.

The broadcaster later identified the man as Ali Kayali, also known as Mihrac Ural, and said he subsequently appeared inside Syrian territory.

According to published Lebanese reports, Lebanon’s Information Branch opened an investigation into the circumstances of the incident and the identities of those who carried out the abduction.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also said, citing its sources, that Ural was arrested inside Lebanon in Mansourieh after his home was raided. It added that the individuals who carried out the operation spoke with Lebanese accents, but said it could not identify them.

Syrian account: Arrested while trying to flee across the border

Hours after the Lebanese reports emerged, Syria’s state news agency SANA said the General Intelligence Service had arrested Ali Kayali, known as Mihrac Ural, while he was attempting to flee across the border.

The agency’s initial announcement did not specify which border he was trying to cross or which country he was attempting to enter.

Syrian authorities also said Kayali was wanted over allegations related to the 2013 Baniyas massacres and that his arrest was part of efforts to pursue individuals accused of violations during the years of the Syrian war.

Turkey says operation was coordinated with Syrian intelligence

The Turkish account added a third version to the case.

Turkish security sources told Anadolu Agency that Mihrac Ural was arrested in Syria while attempting to flee the country in a joint operation involving Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization, or MIT, and Syria’s General Intelligence Service.

Turkey’s Demirören News Agency also reported that the operation was carried out in coordination between the two services after Ural had been monitored for an extended period.

However, the Turkish accounts do not say that Turkish intelligence personnel entered Mansourieh or conducted an operation inside Lebanon.

Was he abducted from Lebanon or arrested at the border?

That remains the central unresolved question.

The official Syrian account says the arrest took place while Ural was attempting to cross the border, while Turkish sources say the operation was conducted in Syria in coordination between the intelligence services of the two countries.

By contrast, Lebanese media reports and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights say he was taken from his home in Mansourieh before later appearing in the custody of Syrian authorities.

There has so far been no official Lebanese statement explaining how Kayali left Lebanese territory, whether he was formally handed over, or whether he was transferred across the border outside normal judicial procedures.

For that reason, it cannot yet be stated as established fact that Syrian and Turkish intelligence entered Lebanon and carried out the abduction in Mansourieh.

Who is Mihrac Ural, also known as Ali Kayali?

Mihrac Ural is of Turkish origin and also holds Syrian citizenship. He was born in 1956 in Turkey’s southern Hatay province.

During the 1970s, he was associated with armed leftist groups in Turkey and became a prominent figure in the Acilciler organization, which was linked to splinter groups from the People’s Liberation Front of Turkey.

He was arrested in Turkey during that period before escaping in the early 1980s and moving to Syria, where he lived for years, later obtained Syrian citizenship and became known as Ali Kayali.

From Turkey to Syria and his ties to the Assad government

Ural settled in Syria during the rule of Hafez al-Assad and later, during the Syrian war, became the leader of an armed group aligned with the government of Bashar al-Assad known as the “Syrian Resistance.” His name was also associated with the “Popular Front for the Liberation of the Sanjak of Alexandretta.”

His group operated primarily in Syria’s coastal regions during the conflict that began in 2011.

Syrian human rights organizations have accused Ural and fighters associated with him of involvement in abuses against civilians. Those allegations are subject to investigation and judicial determination.

Why is his name linked to the Baniyas and al-Bayda massacres?

Syria’s current authorities describe Ural as one of the leading suspects in massacres that took place in al-Bayda and the Ras al-Nabaa area of Baniyas in May 2013.

The Syrian Network for Human Rights says it documented his name as early as 2013, based on testimony from residents who said he was among the commanders associated with the operations in the area.

According to the network, 264 civilians were killed in the al-Bayda massacre, including women and children, while hundreds of civilians were killed in Baniyas and surrounding villages.

Following Ural’s detention, the director of the Syrian Network for Human Rights said the allegations against him now require a judicial investigation and verification of the evidence on which they are based.

What is his connection to the Reyhanli bombings in Turkey?

Turkish authorities have also pursued Ural over the Reyhanli bombings in Hatay province in May 2013.

Fifty-three people were killed in the two bombings and dozens were wounded, according to Turkish authorities.

Turkish security sources consider Ural one of the leading suspects linked to the attack and said his arrest meant that all the main wanted suspects in the case were now in custody.

His individual criminal responsibility in these cases remains a matter for the courts to determine on the basis of evidence and legal proceedings.

Why has Turkey pursued him for years?

Ural has long been sought by Ankara.

Turkey previously called for his arrest and extradition after he appeared at the 2018 Sochi conference on Syria and formally objected to his participation because of the security cases associated with his name.

His name has remained linked in Turkish media to the Reyhanli bombings and to the armed leftist organizations with which he was involved before moving to Syria.

What does his appearance in Syria after disappearing from Mansourieh mean?

Ural’s presence in Syrian custody now raises questions that go beyond the individual case.

If it is established that he was taken from his home in Lebanon and then transferred to Syria, the question for Lebanese authorities will be how a cross-border security operation was carried out on Lebanese territory and whether it took place with the knowledge of state institutions or outside their authority.

If the investigation instead establishes that he left Lebanon before being detained, that would be more consistent with the Syrian account that he was arrested while attempting to flee across the border.

Until the Lebanese investigation produces findings, the location of his arrest and the identity of those who moved him from Mansourieh remain unresolved.

What do we know, and what remains unconfirmed?

What is confirmed so far is that Ali Kayali, known as Mihrac Ural, is in the custody of Syrian authorities and that Syrian intelligence announced his arrest.

Turkish security sources also say MIT participated in a coordinated operation with Syrian intelligence.

What has not been officially established is that the two intelligence services conducted an operation inside Lebanese territory or entered Mansourieh to remove him from his home.

In Lebanon, the investigation must determine the identity of the group that entered the residence and how Ural moved from the Metn district to Syria within a short period.

Profile News has been following the rapidly developing security and political situation in the country as part of its coverage of the Lebanon file.

• Sources
• SANA — Syria arrests Ali Kayali
• Anadolu Agency — Joint operation by Turkish and Syrian intelligence
• Syrian Observatory for Human Rights — Account of the arrest in Mansourieh