Salem Turki al-Antri

Salem Turki al-Antri , is a Syrian military officer who served as the leader of the U.S.-backed Syrian Free Army (SFA) from 2022 to 2025. He joined the Free Syrian Army, serving in various FSA units, eventually being promoted to colonel and appointed to lead the SFA on 29 February 2024, replacing Muhammad Farid al-Qasim. As the leader of the SFA, he initially focused on conducting anti-ISIS operations alongside the US-led International Coalition, before playing a key role in coordinating and executing the Palmyra offensive and the fall of Damascus, which significantly expanded the area under SFA control, up to 20% of the country. On 15 September 2025, he was removed as SFA leader by U.S. forces, though the reasons for his dismissal remain unclear.

Career 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.

On 29 February 2024, al-Antri was appointed as commander of the SFA, succeeding Muhammad Farid al-Qasim. 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.

Fall of the Assad Regime He met with Combined Joint Task Force General Kevin Leahy on 11 February 2025. 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.

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

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.