In February 1982, as commander of the Defense Companies, he allegedly commanded the forces that put down a Muslim Brotherhood revolt in the central city of Hama, by instructing his forces to shell the city with BM-21 Grad rockets, killing thousands of its inhabitants (reports range from between 5,000 and 40,000, the most common suggestion being around 15,000–20,000). This became known as the Hama Massacre. A declassified document from the Defense Intelligence Agency, however, estimates the total number of casualties to be approximately 2000. US journalist Thomas Friedman claims in his book "From Beirut to Jerusalem" that Rifaat later said that the total number of victims was 38,000. Rifaat, however, has repeatedly denied playing any role in the Hama massacre.