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Air Force Intelligence Directorate

Former Syrian intelligence agency From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Air Force Intelligence Directorate
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The Air Force Intelligence Directorate (Arabic: إدارة المخابرات الجوية, romanized: Idarat al-Mukhabarat al-Jawiyya) was an air force intelligence service of Ba'athist Syria from 1970 until 2024,[2] owing its importance to Hafez al-Assad's role as the Syrian Air Force commander.[2] Despite its name, it was mainly involved with issues other than air force intelligence,[3] and took an active part in the suppression of the Muslim Brotherhood rebellion in the 1980s.[4] Agents of this service have frequently been stationed in Syrian embassies or branch offices of the national airline.[5]

Quick Facts Agency overview, Formed ...
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History

The service was headed for seventeen years by Maj. Gen. Muhammad al-Khuli, who was trusted by Hafez al-Assad and had an office adjacent to the president's in the presidential palace.[4] Between 1987 and 2002, it was headed by Ibrahim Huwayji.[6] The service also took part in the efforts to put down the 2011 Syrian uprising against Bashar al-Assad's government. It is known to have been active in the town of Talkalakh near the Lebanese border.[7] From 2009 until July 2019, the agency was headed by Major General Jamil Hassan, who is from Alawite sect.[8]

From 2019 to 2024, it was headed by Major General Ghassan Ismail.[9][10] Ismail previously served as a security official in the eastern Deir ez-Zor Governorate. He was a part of Bashar al-Assad's inner circle.[11]

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Role

Military experts considered SAFI "the most powerful and notorious intelligence and security service in Syria", while the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights called it the "most powerful and most brutal" of Syria's state security agencies. SAFI had a broad mandate as Assad's "personal machinery of repression and extermination," serving as the president's personal action service and having a broad role in external clandestine and covert operations.[12]

Through its extensive network of prisons, SAFI imprisoned, tortured, and killed hundreds of thousands of Syrians.[12]

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International investigations

After the fall of the Assad regime, the U.S. Department of Justice charged former SAFI officers Jamil Hassan and Abdul Salam Mahmoud with "conspiracy to commit war crimes through the infliction of cruel and inhuman treatment on detainees under their control."[12]

Directors

Regional Directors

  • Damascus branch: Brig. Gen. Ahmed Shaaban Muhammad (2024–2024)[24]
    • Eyad Mandou (2012)[25]
  • Aleppo branch: Maj. Gen. Adib Salameh[26] (2012–2016)
  • Hama branch: Col. Duraid Awad (2024–2024)[27]
  • Homs branch: Brig. Gen. Radwan Saqqar (2024–2024)[27]
    • Brig. Gen. Jawdat al-Ahmed (2012) accused of "ordering or committing crimes against humanity".[21]
  • Latakia branch: Brig. Gen. Rami Munir Ismail (2024–2024)[27]
    • Col. Suhail Al-Abdullah (2012) accused of "ordering or committing crimes against humanity".[21]
  • Tartus branch: Brig. Gen. Rami Munir Ismail (2024–2024)[27]
  • Qamishli branch: Brig. Gen. Fouad Suleiman (2024–2024)[28]
  • Daraa branch: Col. Qusay Mihoub (2012) accused of "ordering or committing crimes against humanity".[21]
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Paramilitary units

Other Syrian intelligence agencies

References

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