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The Air Force Intelligence Directorate (Arabic: إدارة المخابرات الجوية, romanized: Idarat al-Mukhabarat al-Jawiyya) was the intelligence service of Ba'athist Syria from 1963 until 2024,[1] owing its importance to Hafez al-Assad's role as the Air Force commander.[1] Despite its name, it was mainly involved with issues other than air force intelligence,[2] and took an active part in the suppression of the Muslim Brotherhood rebellion in the 1980s.[3] Agents of this service have frequently been stationed in Syrian embassies or branch offices of the national airline.[4]
| إدارة المخابرات الجوية Idarat al-Mukhabarat al-Jawiyya | |
 Flag of the Air Force Intelligence Directorate | |
| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 1963 |
| Preceding agency | |
| Dissolved | December 2024 |
| Jurisdiction | Government of Syria |
| Headquarters | Defense Ministry headquarters, Umayyad Square, Damascus, Syria |
| Agency executives |
|
| Parent agency | Ministry of Defense |
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The service was headed for nearly thirty 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.[3] Between 1987 and 2002, it was headed by Ibrahim Huwayji.[5] 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.[6] From 2009 until July 2019, the agency was headed by Major General Jamil Hassan, who is from Alawite sect.[7]
From 2019 to 2024, it was headed by Major General Ghassan Ismail.[8][9] Ghassan Jaoudat Ismail previously served as a security official in the eastern governorate of Deir ez-Zor. He was a part of Bashar al-Assad's inner circle,[10] though he has criticized "the decision of the leadership" to not immediately crush the 2011 Syrian uprising in its very beginning, making him a hardliner in the Syrian leadership.
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Military experts considered SAFI the "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 operations.[11]
Through its extensive network of prisons, SAFI imprisoned, tortured, and killed hundreds of thousands of Syrians.[11]
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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."[11]
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- Muhammad al-Khuli (1963–1987)[12]
- Ibrahim Huwayji (1987–2002)[12][13]
- Iz a-Din Isma'il (2002 – 2005)[14]
- Deputy Director: Ali Mamlouk (2003 – June 2005)[15]
- Abdul Fattah Qudsiyeh (2005 – 1 July 2009)[16][17]
- Jamil Hassan (1 July 2009–7 July 2019)[9][17] was sanctioned by the European Union for being "involved in violence against the civilian population."[18][19]
- Deputy Director: Ghassan Ismail (2012–2019)
- Deputy Director: Fu'ad Tawil (2012) was sanctioned by European Union for "the use of violence across Syria and intimidation and torture of protestors."[18]
- Head of Investigative Branch: Maj. Gen. Abdulsalam Fajer Mahmoud (2011), accused of ordering or committing crimes against humanity by Human Rights Watch.[20][21]
- Head of Special Operations Branch: Maj. Gen. Ghassan Jaoudat Ismail (2011).[21]
- Head of Operations Branch: Col. Suheil Hassan (2011).[21]
- Ghassan Ismail (8 July 2019–4 January 2024)[8]
- Deputy Director: Malik Ali Habib (July 2023–8 December 2024)
- Head of Special Operations Branch: Brig. Gen. Mohammed Nafie Bilal (May 2024–2024)[22]
- Qahtan Khalil (4 January–8 December 2024)
Regional Directors
- Damascus branch: Brig. Gen. Ahmed Shaaban Muhammad (2024–2024)[23]
- Eyad Mandou (2012)[24]
- Aleppo branch: Maj. Gen. Adib Salameh[25] (2012–2016)
- Hama branch: Col. Duraid Awad (2024–2024)[26]
- Homs branch: Brig. Gen. Radwan Saqqar (2024–2024)[26]
- Brig. Gen. Jawdat al-Ahmed (2012) accused of "ordering or committing crimes against humanity".[20]
- Latakia branch: Brig. Gen. Rami Ismail (2024–2024)
- Col. Suhail Al-Abdullah (2012) accused of "ordering or committing crimes against humanity".[20]
- Qamishli branch: Brig. Gen. Fouad Suleiman (2024–2024)[27]
- Daraa branch: Col. Qusay Mihoub (2012) accused of "ordering or committing crimes against humanity".[20]
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