Baghdad: Judicial sources announced: “Last August, the French judiciary issued seven arrest warrants against former senior officials in the Syrian regime, including ousted President Bashar al-Assad, on charges of bombing a press center in Homs in 2012, which led to the deaths of two journalists.”

According to National Iraqi News Agency, the tragic event occurred on February 22, 2012, when a building housing several journalists in Homs came under attack. As the journalists attempted to evacuate, American journalist Marie Colvin of The Sunday Times and French photographer R©mi Ochlik were killed by a mortar shell as they exited the building.

The attack also left French correspondent Edith Bouvier, British photographer Paul Conroy, and their Syrian translator, Wael Al-Omar, wounded. In the aftermath of the attack, these individuals have been struggling with the physical and psychological scars left by the incident.

Following the overthrow of his regime in late 2024, Assad fled to Russia with his family. His exact location remains unconfirmed, complicating efforts to serve the arrest warrant. The warrants also extend to other key figures in the Syrian regime, including Assad’s brother Maher, who commanded the Syrian Fourth Armored Division, intelligence chief Ali Mamlouk, and then-army chief of staff Ali Ayoub.