Internal Security Service (ISS; ar, جهاز الأمن الداخلي,
transliterated
Transliteration is a type of conversion of a text from one script to another that involves swapping letters (thus '' trans-'' + '' liter-'') in predictable ways, such as Greek → , Cyrillic → , Greek → the digraph , Armenian → or ...
: ''Jahaz al Amn al Dakhly'') is the
national security
National security, or national defence, is the security and defence of a sovereign state, including its citizens, economy, and institutions, which is regarded as a duty of government. Originally conceived as protection against military atta ...
agency of the
Sultanate of Oman
Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of t ...
. The agency focuses solely upon domestic security while foreign intelligence operations is specifically handled by the
Palace Office, which controls external security and coordinates all intelligence and security policies.
The stated overall purpose of ISS is to investigates all matters related to internal security. The ISS also leads on Omani counter terrorism procedures and outreach activities.
The ISS can trace its history back to the intelligence and security structures set up using British military intelligence expertise as part of Sultan Said's armed forces in the 1950s. HM Sultan Qaboos developed the capability and the Oman Intelligence Service became the Oman Research Department (ORD); with its main focus being supporting counter insurgency operations in the Dhofar Region in the 1970s.
The ORD was re-titled the ISS in 1987.
The ISS is known to have offices in
Qurum
Qurum (; also written Qurm) is an upscale suburb of Muscat in Oman.
Its main attractions are the Qurum Natural Park, the Qurum City Centre and the Qurum Beach.
Qurm Nature Reserve
Qurum is the site of Qurm Nature Reserve, a national natur ...
(in the Capital area) and
Salalah
Salalah ( ar, صَلَالَة, Ṣalālah) is the capital and largest city of the southern Omani governorate of Dhofar. Its population in 2009 was about 197,169.
Salalah is the third-largest city in the Sultanate of Oman, and the largest city ...
in
Dhofar
The Dhofar Governorate ( ar, مُحَافَظَة ظُفَار, Muḥāfaẓat Ẓufār) is the largest of the 11 Governorates in the Sultanate of Oman in terms of area. It lies in Southern Oman, on the eastern border with Yemen's Al Mahrah Gov ...
.
In 1994 and 2005 there were attempted coups against the Sultan's rule and the ISS would have been instrumental in uncovering and investigating the plots.
As of May 2013, Lieutenant General Said bin Ali bin Zahir al Hilali was appointed Head of the ISS – he had formerly been the assistant head of the agency. He was still in post as of November 2015. His former post was passed to Brigadier Ghosn bin Hilal bin Khalifa al Alawi (who was promoted to major general on assuming the post of Assistant Head ISS). Lieutenant General Said al Hilali's brother is the Sultanate's Public Prosecutor, who was reported in 2012 to be ready to use the law to restrict freedom of speech and association.
See also
*
Qaboos bin Said al Said
Qaboos bin Said Al Said ( ar, قابوس بن سعيد آل سعيد, ; 18 November 1940 – 10 January 2020) was Sultan of Oman from 23 July 1970 until his death in 2020. A fifteenth-generation descendant of the founder of the House of Al Said, ...
*
Dhofar Rebellion
The Dhofar Rebellion, also known as the Dhofar War or the Omani Civil War, was waged from 1963 to 1976 in the province of Dhofar against the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman. The war began with the formation of the Dhofar Liberation Front, a group ...
*
Dhofar Liberation Front
Dhofar Liberation Front (DLF) ( ar, جبهة تحرير ظفار) was a communist front that was established to create a separatist state in Dhofar, the southern province of Oman, which shared a border with South Yemen.
The DLF was established b ...
*
Human rights in Oman
Oman is an absolute monarchy in which all legislative, executive, and judiciary power ultimately rests in the hands of the hereditary sultan, and in which the system of laws is based firmly on the monarchs made laws. Although a report by the U.S ...
*
Royal Oman Police
The Royal Oman Police (ROP), also known as Oman Police ( ar, شرطة عمان السلطانية), is the main law and order agency for the Sultanate of Oman. It maintains a helicopter fleet and also carries on the duties of safeguarding the long ...
References
{{Domestic national intelligence agencies
Law enforcement in Oman
Domestic intelligence agencies
National security