Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard’s warning of a terrorist takeover in Syria looks to be coming true amid reports that al Qaeda-linked terror forces aligned with Syria’s interim new president—a former al Qaeda terrorist—are being accused of massacring Alawites as well as members of the country’s dwindling Christian community. 

Syrian security forces and affiliated gunmen have killed more than 340 civilians, the vast majority of them from the Alawite minority, over the last two days, Rami Abdulrahman of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights told Reuters on Saturday.

At Gabbard’s Senate confirmation hearing she said «I have no love for Assad or any dictator. I just hate al-Qaeda. I hate that our leaders cozy up to Islamist extremists, calling them «rebels», as Jake Sullivan said to Hillary Clinton, «al Qaeda is on our side in Syria.» Syria is now controlled by al-Qaeda offshoot HTS, led by an Islamist Jihadist who danced in the streets on 9/11, and who was responsible for the killing of many American soldiers.»

An Alawite woman from the region of Al-Ghab plain, where there is a majority Alawite population, told Fox News Digital that the forces said, «Alawites are pigs, and they have to execute all of them and the small children before the elderly people.» 

TRUMP URGES US TO STAY OUT OF SYRIAN CIVIL WAR, BLAMING OBAMA FOR FAILURE AS ISLAMISTS CLOSE IN ON CAPITAL

The witness spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal from the authorities. She said that two militias had entered her house on Thursday and searched her residence for weapons. One of the members «put a gun to my head and asked for all my money. They took all the money and took money from our neighbors.»

She confirmed reports that the Islamist forces murdered the prominent Alawite 86-year-old cleric Shaaban Mansour and his son Hussein Shaaban. Reuters reported that Mansour was killed on Friday with his son in the village of Sahlab in western Syria. Residents there accused fighters aligned with Damascus of killing them.

A sizable Christian population living in the area has also reportedly been under attack. Greco-Levantines Worldwide media reported that a young family, including their infant child, was killed on Friday.  A father and son, Tony and Fadi Petrus, were also executed by Islamists.

The witness said that in other Alawite towns—Nahr al-Bared and Deir Shamil—the Islamist militias «are entering houses and killing people and stealing everything. They are covering their faces.» 

«I feel there is no safety. There is no homeland. There is nowhere to escape to, and no one to defend us. I feel fear and horrifying feelings.»

The witness added that the Islamists are Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and other such groups affiliated with HTS, who stormed her region. She said HTS terrorists were Syrian Arabs, because of their spoken Arabic.

TRUMP CONGRATULATES US MILITARY AFTER AIRSTRIKE THAT KILLED OFFICIAL OF AL-QAEDA AFFILIATE: ‘DEALT JUSTICE’

Ahmed al-Sharaa and his group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a U.S.-designated terrorist organization, overthrew former Syrian President Bashar Assad in December (Photo by Omar Haj Kadour/AFP via Getty Images)

Ahmed al-Sharaa and his group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a U.S.-designated Sunni terrorist organization, toppled the former Syrian President Bashar Assad in December. Assad is a member of the Alawite minority, an offshoot of Shiite Islam. The Alawites comprise roughly 10% of the Syrian population.

The Alawite source told Fox News Digital that the community is seeking support from the U.S., noting that the Islamists «want to kill all of us. They don’t want us in Syria. We have to flee Syria. They are seeking revenge from the former regime. I am asking for protection and to live in dignity, because we can be killed at any moment.» 

One Alawite, who asked to remain anonymous, and who lives in Europe and is in constant contact with her community in Syria, claimed that in the coastal region and Alawite, more than 4,000 people are estimated to have been killed. She claimed to have received lists of people from Alawites who have documented the mass murder.

The Syrian army sends reinforcements, including tanks, armored vehicles and rocket launchers, to Latakia and Tartus as search operations against the ousted regime forces expand following an attack on security forces in Latakia province of Syria on March 7, 2025. (Izettin Kasim/Anadolu via Getty Images)

She and her group wrote on Telegram that al-Sharaa’s «fighters have unleashed a wave of terror against civilians in Syria’s coastal cities. Reports from Alawite community sources indicate hundreds of casualties, with Christians also among the victims.»

In his first comments on the violence, interim President al-Sharaa said that government forces would pursue «remnants» of the ousted Bashar Assad government.

UNCOVERING THE ATROCITIES OF THE ASSAD REGIME AT ITS ‘DEATH FACTORY’ ON THE HILL

People wave guns in the air as they gather to celebrate the fall of the Syrian regime in Umayyad Square on Dec. 8 in Damascus, Syria.  (Ali Haj Suleiman/Getty Images)

«We will continue to pursue the remnants of the fallen regime. . . . We will bring them to a fair court, and we will continue to restrict weapons to the state, and no loose weapons will remain in Syria,» Sharaa added in a pre-recorded speech.

The U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres, European politicians and diplomats from the former Biden administration have sought to woo Sharaa with sanctions relief and diplomatic relations since December. Critics argue that a former Islamic State and al-Qaeda terrorist, Sharra, can’t simply sport a suit and pretend he has abandoned his terrorist ideology and methods.

Just two days before the slaughter of Alawites, Guterres met with Sharaa on Tuesday in Cairo where they discussed views about a new course for Syria.

While an official statement has yet to come from the U.N. chief, his special envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, said he was «deeply concerned» by the reports of killings.

A group of Alawite clerics, the Alawite Islamic Council, blamed the violence on the government, saying that fighters had been sent to the coast «with the pretext of (combating) ‘regime remnants,’ to terrorize and kill Syrians.» It called for the region to be put under U.N. protection.

Syrian authorities said the violence began when remnants loyal to Assad launched a deadly and well-planned attack on their forces on Thursday.

The violence has shaken Sharaa’s efforts to consolidate control as his administration struggles to get U.S. sanctions lifted and grapples with wider security challenges, notably in the southwest, where Israel has said it will prevent Damascus from deploying forces.

The violence spiraled on Thursday when the authorities said groups of Assad-aligned militias had targeted security patrols and checkpoints in the Jableh area and surrounding countryside, before spreading.

ISRAEL DEPLOYS PARATROOPERS TO SYRIA IN ‘DEFENSE ACTIVITIES’ AFTER FALL OF ASSAD

Moussa al-Omar, a Syrian media figure close to the country’s new leadership, told Reuters that tens of thousands of fighters in Syria’s newly constituted security forces had been deployed to the coast in the operation and that order had been largely restored as of Friday night.

He said the crackdown was «a message to anyone in the south or east of Syria that the state . . . is capable of a military resolution at any time, even as it seeks peaceful solutions.»

Alawite activists say their community has been subjected to violence and attacks, particularly in rural Homs and Latakia, since Assad was overthrown in December after decades of repressive family rule and civil war.

Saudi Arabia condemned «crimes being undertaken by outlaw groups» in Syria and their targeting of security forces.

Deposed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad seen arriving in Jeddah, to attend the Arab League summit the following day in Saudi Arabia, May 18, 2023. Assad is in now living in exile in Russia. SANA/Handout via Reuters

Turkey, a close ally of Syria’s new government, also stated its support for Damascus, saying, «The tension in and around Latakia, as well as the targeting of security forces, could undermine the efforts to lead Syria into the future in unity and solidarity.»

Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz blasted Syria’s Islamist rulers on Friday for their campaign to smash a nascent insurgency by fighters from ousted President Assad’s Alawite group.

«[Abu Mohammed] al-Julani switched his robe for a suit and presented a moderate face,» Katz said in a statement on X, using the nom de guerre of Ahmed al-Sharaa. «Now he’s taken off the mask and exposed his true face: A jihadist terrorist of the al-Qaeda school who is committing horrifying acts against a civilian population.»

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Katz added, «Israel will defend itself against any threat from Syria. We will remain in the security zones and Mount Hermon and protect the communities of the Golan and Galilee. We will ensure that southern Syria remains demilitarized and free of threats, and we will protect the local Druze population—anyone who harms them will face our response.»

The Syrian Alawite source in Europe told Fox News Digital that the Alawites want Israel to protect them like Israel’s offer of aid to the Syrian Druze population, who are also being targeted by the Islamist government in Damascus.

Reuters contributed to this report.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea unveiled for the first time a nuclear-powered submarine under construction, a weapons system that can pose a major security threat to South Korea and the U.S.

State media on Saturday released photos showing what it called «a nuclear-powered strategic guided missile submarine,» as it reported leader Kim Jong Un’s visits to major shipyards where warships are built.

The Korean Central News Agency, or KCNA, didn’t provide details on the submarine, but said Kim was briefed on its construction.

TRUMP MUST NOT REPEAT HIS KIM JONG UN MISTAKE WITH IRAN, SECURITY EXPERT WARNS

The naval vessel appears to be a 6,000-ton-class or 7,000-ton-class one which can carry about 10 missiles, said Moon Keun-sik, a South Korean submarine expert who teaches at Seoul’s Hanyang University. He said the use of the term «the strategic guided missiles» meant it would carry nuclear-capable weapons.

«It would be absolutely threatening to us and the U.S.,» Moon said.

A nuclear-powered submarine was among a long wishlist of sophisticated weaponry that Kim vowed to introduce during a major political conference in 2021 to cope with what he called escalating U.S.-led military threats. Other weapons were solid-fueled intercontinental ballistic missiles, hypersonic weapons, spy satellites and multi-warhead missiles. North Korea has since performed a run of testing activities to acquire them.

North Korea obtaining a greater ability to fire missiles from underwater is a worrying development because it’s difficult for its rivals to detect such launches in advance.

Questions about how North Korea, a heavily sanctioned and impoverished country, could get resources and technology to build nuclear-powered submarines have surfaced.

Moon, the submarine expert, said North Korea may have received Russian technological assistance to build a nuclear reactor to be used in the submarine in return for supplying conventional weapons and troops to support Russia’s war efforts against Ukraine.

In this undated photo provided on March 8, 2025, by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, bottom right, visits a shipyard to construct warships at an undisclosed place in North Korea. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP) (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)

SOUTH KOREA’S IMPEACHED PRESIDENT YOON SUK YEOL FREED FROM PRISON AFTER CANCELED ARREST

He also said North Korea could launch the submarine in one or two years to test its capability before its actual deployment.

North Korea has an estimated 70-90 diesel-powered submarines in one of the world’s largest fleets. However, they are mostly aging ones capable of launching only torpedoes and mines, not missiles.

In 2023, North Korea said it had launched what it called its first «tactical nuclear attack submarine,» but foreign experts doubted the North’s announcement and speculated it was likely a diesel-powered submarine disclosed in 2019. Moon said there has been no confirmation that it has been deployed.

North Korea has conducted a slew of underwater-launched ballistic missile tests since 2016, but all launches were made from the same 2,000-ton-class submarine which has a single launch tube. Many experts call it a test platform, rather than an operational submarine in active service.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

In recent days, North Korea has been dialing up its fiery rhetoric against the U.S. and South Korea ahead of their upcoming annual military drills set to start Monday.

During his visits to the shipyards, Kim said North Korea aims to modernize water-surface and underwater warships simultaneously. He stressed the need to make «the incomparably overwhelming warships fulfill their mission» to contain «the inveterate gunboat diplomacy of the hostile forces,» KCNA reported Saturday.

President Donald Trump’s highly acclaimed Turnberry golf resort in Scotland was vandalized with graffiti overnight Friday by pro-Palestine activists who also dug holes into one of the course’s fairways.

Drone footage shows the resort’s clubhouse splattered with red paint while giant white letters reading «Gaza Is Not For Sale» were painted on an area next to a green.

The lamp post at the resort’s entrance was also damaged while graffiti reading «Free Gaza» and «Free Palestine» were sprayed on the entrance’s wall.

The group Palestine Action took responsibility following Trump’s plans for the future of Gaza, which could see millions of Palestinians displaced. 

GAZA PLAN CRITICIZED BY US AND ISRAEL GETS EUROPEAN SUPPORT

«To make that clear, we have shown him that his own property is not safe from acts of resistance,» the group said in a statement.

Trump received heavy criticism last month when he suggested the U.S. take over Gaza during a press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netnayahu. His proposal would involve the relocation of Palestinians and turning the enclave into what he describes as the «Riviera of the Middle East.» 

Trump’s Turnberry golf course and hotel is located in southwest Scotland and has three courses – two 18-hole courses and one 9 hole course — with the venue previously hosting four Open Championships. However, it hasn’t staged the event since Trump bought the course in 2014 and renovated several holes.

A police officer inspects damage in the aftermath of a pro-Palestinian protest on U.S. President Donald Trump’s golf course in Turnberry, Scotland on March 8, 2025. (Milo Chandler/IMDmilo.com/via REUTERS)

ANTI-ISRAEL GROUPS SPRAY-PAINT COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY BUILDING, ‘CEMENTED’ SEWAGE SYSTEM

It wasn’t immediately clear which course had been vandalized.

The Alisa Course, its signature course, is named after an uninhibited volcanic island, Ailsa Craig, set across from the property that is half a billion years old. The course consistently ranks among the world’s top 10 golf courses.

«Yesterday, it was ranked #3 golf course in Europe. Today, it’s shut,» Palestine Action wrote on X.

The resort is one of two that Trump, via the Trump Organization, operates in Scotland, with the second being Trump International Scotland in Aberdeen. The president is an avid golfer and his mother hailed from Scotland. 

Police in Scotland said they are investigating the incident. 

Drone footage shows «Gaza Is Not For Sale» in giant white letters painted on an area next to a green at Trump’s Turnberry golf resort in Scotland. (Hassan Ghani via Reuters)

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

«Around 4.40 a.m. on Saturday, 8 March, 2025, we received a report of damage to the golf course and a premises on Maidens Road, Turnberry,» a Police Scotland spokesperson said, adding that investigations were ongoing.

Fox News Digital has reached out to the Trump Organization for comment. 

Holes dug by vandals at Trump’s Turnberry course. (Hassan Ghani via Reuters)

Separately on Saturday, a man waving a Palestinian flag climbed the Elizabeth Tower – commonly known as Big Ben – at London’s Palace of Westminster.

Fox News’ Rachel Wolf, Reuters and the Associated Press contributed to this report.