sentences:  Under these circumstances, the Syrian Army provided an attractive alternative for the men of the village to advance socially and economically.Various figures from the town have served in high-ranking positions in the Syrian military and security apparatus, including Muhammad Umran, former Defense Minister (early 1966), whose father had been a religious "shaykh" and a local leader of the town.Other notable Syrian military figures from al-Mukharram include Ahmed Sa'id Salih, the former Chief of Political Security (1970-1987) and deputy Interior Minister, Adnan Badr Hassan, another former Chief of Political Security (1987-2002), and Abd al-Karim al-Razzuq the late 1970s commander of the missile corps and the air defense forces.