Salem Turki al-Antri

Syrian Civil War

He is from the "Anatara" tribe in Palmyra, a tribe linked to the "Harb" tribe, famous in the Arab Jazira. He was an artilleryman in Assad regime's forces and later joined Ahrar al-Sharqiya, a Free Syrian Army unit that operates in the Syrian National Army coalition. The source notes that al-Antri and the leaders of the group were close to the Muslim Brotherhood.^[5] As a member of Ahrar al-Sharqiya, he fought in the Battle of Ras al-Ayn, before transferring from Ahrar al-Sharqiya to Maghawir al-Thawra, a FSA unit operating in Al-Tanf. The U.S. army provided training to the FSA factions at al-Tanf to help them fight the Islamic State.^{[citation needed]} Maghaweir al-Thawra changed its name to become the Syrian Free Army following mergers with other FSA units and changes to its leadership after allegations of corruption surfaced against a high-level commander in the unit. Following this, the SFA began “raising the combat level” of its soldiers in preparation for further battles with the Islamic State.^[6]

On 29 February 2024, al-Antri was appointed as commander of the SFA, succeeding Muhammad Farid al-Qasim.^[7] As commander of the SFA, al-Antri oversaw operations in the al-Tanf region, near the U.S. military al-Tanf base, a strategic area near the Syria-Iraq-Jordan border. The SFA collaborated with U.S. forces in maintaining security within the 55-kilometer deconfliction zone surrounding al-Tanf.^[8]

Fall of the Assad Regime

During the fall of the Assad Regime, al-Antri led the SFA units in al-Tanf in the Palmyra offensive. After defeating the Syrian government in Palmyra, the SFA, under al-Antri’s command, both assisted in the Homs offensive and routed the Syrian government to the capital Damascus, in a battle that resulted in the fall of the city to the Syrian Free Army and Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham.^[4]

He met with Syrian Minister of Defense Murhaf Abu Qasra on 9 January 2025, where they discussed the unification of rebel groups and "shared security challenges".^[9]

On 29 January 2025, he led a delegation of the Syrian Free Army to a conference declaring the victory of the Syrian Revolution,^[10] but like representatives of the Southern Operations Room, he still retained his forces and did not announce its dissolution like the pro-HTS groups.^[11]

According to the sources from al-Tanf base, al-Antri was relieved of his SFA leadership duties on 15 September 2025, while he continues to serve as an officer within the Ministry of Defense.^[3] According to one "informed" source, al-Antri's dismissal was made after US Navy admiral Brad Cooper met with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and may be related to smuggling activities near Syria's borders with Jordan and Iraq.^[5]