The Military Intelligence Directorate ( ar, شعبة المخابرات العسكرية, translit=Shu'bat al-Mukhabarat al-'Askariyya), is the

military intelligence Military intelligence is a military discipline that uses information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to assist commanders in their decisions. This aim is achieved by providing an assessment of data from a ...

service Service may refer to: Activities * Administrative service, a required part of the workload of university faculty * Civil service, the body of employees of a government * Community service, volunteer service for the benefit of a community or a pu ...

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

. Although its roots go back to the French mandate period (1923–1943), its current organization was established in 1969.Conflict Studies Journal at the University of New Brunswick
. Lib.unb.ca. Retrieved on 19 October 2010. Its predecessor organisation was called the ''

Deuxième Bureau The Deuxième Bureau de l'État-major général ("Second Bureau of the General Staff") was France's external military intelligence agency from 1871 to 1940. It was dissolved together with the Third Republic upon the armistice with Germany. Howeve ...

'' (the Second Bureau). It is headquartered at the

Defense Ministry {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

. The military intelligence service, or the ''

Mukhabarat ( ar, مخابرات, also transliterated '' / ''), is the Arabic term for intelligence, as used by an intelligence agency. In most of the Middle East, the term is colloquially used in reference to secret police agents who spy on civilians. Organi ...

'' in Arabic, is very influential in Syrian politics and is controlled by the

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Bashar al-Assad Bashar Hafez al-Assad, ', Levantine pronunciation: ; (, born 11 September 1965) is a Syrian politician who is the 19th president of Syria, since 17 July 2000. In addition, he is the commander-in-chief of the Syrian Armed Forces and the ...

. It is suspected of providing support to different radical groups. The service also monitors opponents of the government outside Syria. During the

Syrian occupation of Lebanon The Syrian occupation of Lebanon ( ar, الاحتلال السوري للبنان, french: Occupation syrienne du Liban) began in 1976, during the Lebanese Civil War, and ended on 30 April 2005 after the Cedar Revolution and several demonstrati ...

, the Mukhabarat exercised political authority in Lebanon.

List of heads

Ali Zaza ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, عَلِيّ بْن أَبِي طَالِب; 600 – 661 CE) was the last of four Rightly Guided Caliphs to rule Islam (r. 656 – 661) immediately after the death of Muhammad, and he was the first Shia Imam. ...

(1965-1970) *

Hikmat al-Shihabi Hikmat al-Shihabi ( ar, حكمت الشهابي; 8 January 1931 – 5 March 2013), also known as ''Hikmat Shihabi'', was a Syrian career military officer, who served as the chief of staff of the Syrian Army between 1974 and 1998. As a Sunni, he ...

(1970–1973) **Deputy director:

Ali Duba Ali Issa Ibrahim Duba ( ar, علي عيسى ابراهيم دوبا, born 1933), also known as ''Ali Douba'', is a former head of the Syrian military intelligence and was a close adviser to the Syrian president Hafez al-Assad. The military inte ...

(1973–2000) :*Deputy director:

Hassan Khalil Hassan Khalil ( ar, حسن خليل) is the former Head of Military Intelligence Directorate (Syria), serving from 2000 to 2005. Khalil was previously deputy director from 1993 to 2000. Prior to the Syrian civil war Hassan Khalil was a key figu ...

(1993–2000) *

(2000–2005) :*Deputy director: Assef Shawkat (2000–2005) *

Assef Shawkat Assef Shawkat ( ar, آصِفُ شَوْكَتْ, ʾĀṣif Šawkat‎; 15 January 1950 – 18 July 2012) was the deputy Minister of Defense of Syria from September 2011 until his death in July 2012. He was the brother-in-law of Syrian Preside ...

(2005–2009) :*Deputy director: Saeed Sammour (2005–2009) *

Abdel-Fatah Qudsiyeh Abdel-Fatah Qudsiyeh ( ar, عبد الفتاح قدسية; born 1953) is since 2012 the deputy director of the Syrian National Security Bureau and a close adviser to President Bashar al-Assad. Early life Qudsiyeh was born in Hama in 1953. Car ...

(2009–July 2012) **Head of Internal Affairs (branch 293):

Rafiq Shahadah Rafiq Shahadah ( ar, رفيق شحادة, born 1956) is a Syrian Army major general. He was head of the Military Intelligence Directorate and the chief of staff of the Syrian Army's operations in Eastern Syria. Early life Shahadah was born in J ...

(2011) *

(July 2012–March 2015) *

Mohamed Mahala Muhammad was an Islamic prophet and a religious and political leader who preached and established Islam. Muhammad and variations may also refer to: *Muhammad (name), a given name and surname, and list of people with the name and its variations ...

(March 2015–July 2019) * Kifah Moulhem (July 2019–Present)

Regional Heads of Military Intelligence

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

countryside (branch 227):

Maj. Gen. Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Rustum Ghazali Rustum Ghazaleh ( ar, رستم غزالة) also transl. from Arabic as Rostom Ghazale, Rustom Ghazalah, Rustom Ghazali; (3 May 1953 – 24 April 2015) was a Syrian military and intelligence officer. Early life Ghazaleh was born into a Sunni Musli ...

(past–July 2012), the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

sanctioned him for being involved in violence against the civilian population during the Syrian uprising. Accused of ordering or committing

crimes against humanity Crimes against humanity are widespread or systemic acts committed by or on behalf of a ''de facto'' authority, usually a state, that grossly violate human rights. Unlike war crimes, crimes against humanity do not have to take place within the ...

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...

. :*Damascus (branch 215): Brig. Gen. Sha’afiq (2012) accused of ordering or committing crimes against humanity. :*Damascus (branch 235 a.k.a. "

Palestine Branch Far' Falastine (), also known as Branch 235, is a prison operated by Syrian Intelligence under the charge of Brig. Gen. Muhammad Khallouf located in Damascus, notorious for accounts of torture, coercive interrogation, and deplorable conditions rel ...

"): Brig. Gen. Muhammad Khallouf (2012) accused of ordering or committing crimes against humanity. :*Damascus (branch 291): Brig. Gen. Yousef Abdou (2012) accused of ordering or committing crimes against humanity. :*Damascus (branch 291): Brig. Gen. Burhan Qadour (past–2012) accused of ordering or committing crimes against humanity. *

Hama , timezone = EET , utc_offset = +2 , timezone_DST = EEST , utc_offset_DST = +3 , postal_code_type = , postal_code = , ar ...

city branch: Mohammad Mufleh (2011), the European Union sanctioned him for being involved in the crackdown on demonstrators during the Syrian uprising. *

Deir ez-Zor , population_urban = , population_density_urban_km2 = , population_density_urban_sq_mi = , population_blank1_title = Ethnicities , population_blank1 = , population_blank2_title = Religions , population_blank2 = ...

branch: Jami Jami (2011), the European Union sanctioned him for being directly involved in repression and violence against the civilian population in Dayr az-Zor and alboukamal during the Syrian uprising. *

Idlib ar, إدلبي, Idlibi , coordinates = , elevation_m = 500 , area_code = 23 , geocode = C3871 , blank_name = Climate , blank_info ...

(branch 271): Brig. Gen. Nawful Al-Husayn (2011), the European Union sanctioned him for being directly involved in repression and violence against the civilian population in Idlib province during the Syrian uprising. Accused of ordering or committing crimes against humanity. *

Homs Homs ( , , , ; ar, حِمْص / ALA-LC: ; Levantine Arabic: / ''Ḥomṣ'' ), known in pre-Islamic Syria as Emesa ( ; grc, Ἔμεσα, Émesa), is a city in western Syria and the capital of the Homs Governorate. It is Metres above sea level ...

branch: Muhammed Zamrini (2011), the European Union sanctioned him for being directly involved in repression and violence against the civilian population in Homs during the Syrian uprising. Accused of ordering or committing crimes against humanity. *

Daraa Daraa ( ar, دَرْعَا, Darʿā, Levantine Arabic: , also Darʿā, Dara’a, Deraa, Dera'a, Dera, Derʿā and Edrei; means "''fortress''", compare Dura-Europos) is a city in southwestern Syria, located about north of the border with Jordan ...

(branch 245): Col. Lu’ai al-Ali (2011), the European Union sanctioned him for being responsible for the violence against protesters in Daraa during the Syrian uprising. Accused of ordering or committing crimes against humanity. *

Suwayda , timezone = EET , utc_offset = +2 , timezone_DST = EEST , utc_offset_DST = +3 , coordinates = , grid_position = 296/235 ...

branch: Wafiq Nasser (2011), head of regional branch assumed position after Brig. Gen. Suheir Ramadan. *

Aleppo )), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black". , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , image_map1 = ...

branch: Muhammad Duba (1974-1979)

Paramilitary units

Military Security Shield Forces The Military Security Shield Forces (), also called the Military Intelligence Shield Force or simply Military Shield, is a pro-government militia involved in the Syrian Civil War that is affiliated with the Military Intelligence Directorate. Hi ...

**Military Security Falcons ** Southern Shield Brigade * Desert Commandos Regiment ** Lions of Hamidiya *

Forces of the Fighters of the Tribes , native_name_lang = Arabic , war = the Syrian Civil War , image = Forces of the Fighters of the Tribes emblem.png , caption = Emblem of the militia. Top reads: "Syrian Arab Republic. The Army and the Armed Forces- ...

*Falcons of the Euphrates

Other Syrian intelligence agencies

Air Force Intelligence Directorate The Air Force Intelligence Directorate ( ar, إدارة المخابرات الجوية, ''Idarat al-Mukhabarat al-Jawiyya'') is an intelligence service of Syria, possibly the country's most powerful, owing its importance to Hafez al-Assad's role ...

* General Intelligence Directorate *

Political Security Directorate Political Security Directorate (PSD, ar, إدارة الأمن السياسي, ''Idarat al-Amn al-Siyasi'') is an intelligence service of the Syrian government. It is divided into an Internal Security Department and an External Security Departm ...

References

External links

Syria's Intelligence Services: Origins and Development
Andrew Rathmell, J. Conflict Studies, 1996.
Human Rights in Syria
James A. Paul, Middle East Watch, 1990.
Syria's Intelligence Services
Agentura. {{Authority control Syrian intelligence agencies Politics of Lebanon Military intelligence agencies Military of Syria