The Air Force Intelligence Directorate ( ar, إدارة المخابرات الجوية, ''Idarat al-Mukhabarat al-Jawiyya'') is an

intelligence service An intelligence agency is a government agency responsible for the collection, analysis, and exploitation of information in support of law enforcement, national security, military, public safety, and foreign policy objectives. Means of informatio ...

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 ...

, possibly the country's most powerful, owing its importance to

Hafez al-Assad Hafez al-Assad ', , (, 6 October 1930 – 10 June 2000) was a Syrian statesman and military officer who served as President of Syria from taking power in 1971 until his death in 2000. He was also Prime Minister of Syria from 1970 to 1 ...

's role as the

Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an ...

commander. Despite its name, it is mainly involved with issues other than air force intelligence, and took an active part in the suppression of the Muslim Brotherhood rebellion in the 1980s. Agents of this service have frequently been stationed in Syrian embassies or branch offices of the national airline. The service was headed for nearly thirty years by Maj. Gen.

Muhammad al-Khuli Muhammad al-Khuli ( ar, محمد الخولي; born 1937) was a career officer in the Syrian Arab Air Force throughout Ba'athist rule in Syria and during the presidency of Hafez al-Assad. Early life Al-Khuli was born in Beit Yashout in 1937 to an ...

, who was trusted by Hafez al-Assad and had an office adjacent to the president's in the presidential palace. In 1995, it was headed by Ibrahim Huwayji. As of 2019, it is headed by Gen Ghassan Jaoudat Ismail. Hassan previously served as a security official in the eastern governorate of

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 = ...

. He is a part of

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 ...

's inner circle, 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. 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 Talkalakh ( ar, تَلْكَلَخ, Talkalaḵ) is a city in western Syria administratively belonging to the Homs Governorate as the capital of the Talkalakh District just north of the border with Lebanon and west of Homs. According to the Centra ...

near the Lebanese border.

Heads of Air Force Intelligence Directorate

(1963–1987) *Ibrahim Huwayji (1987–2002) *Iz a-Din Isma'il (2002 – ) **Deputy director:

Ali Mamlouk Ali Mamlouk ( ar, علي مملوك) (born 19 February 1946) is a special security adviser to Syrian president Bashar al-Assad and is one of his trusted men. Mamlouk is also head of the National Security Bureau of the Ba'ath Party. Early life ...

( – June 2005) *

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) * Jamil Hassan (2009–2019) was sanctioned by 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 ...

for "violence against the civilian population during the Syrian Civil War".L_2012016EN.01000101.xml
Eur-lex.europa.eu (19 January 2012). Retrieved on 12 April 2012. ** Deputy director: Fuad Tawil (2012) was sanctioned by European Union for "the use of violence across Syria and intimidation and torture of protestors during the Syrian uprising". ** Head of Investigative branch: Maj. Gen. Abdulsalam Fajer Mahmoud (2011), 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 ...

.https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/syria1211webwcover_0.pdf ** Head of Special Operations branch: Maj. Gen. Ghassan Ismail (2011). ** Head of Operations branch: Col. Suheil Hassan (2011). * Ghassan Jaoudat Ismail (2019–present)

Regional Heads of Air Force Intelligence Directorate

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 = , ...

branch: Eyad Mandou (2012) *

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: Brig. Gen. Jawdat al-Ahmed (2012) 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: Col. Qusay Mihoub (2012) accused of "ordering or committing crimes against humanity". *

Latakia , coordinates = , elevation_footnotes = , elevation_m = 11 , elevation_ft = , postal_code_type = , postal_code = , area_code = Country code: 963 City code: 41 , geocode ...

branch: Col. Suhail Al-Abdullah (2012) accused of "ordering or committing crimes against humanity".

Paramilitary units

* Guardians of the Dawn ** Lions of the Cherubim *** Earthquake of

Jobar Jobar ( ar, جَوْبَر, Jawbar) also spelled Jawbar, Jober or Joubar, is a municipality of the Syrian capital Damascus. A once historical village on the outskirts of Damascus, it is now a suburb of the capital city. It lies 2 km northeas ...

** Ararat Group ** Lions of the

Valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between Hill, hills or Mountain, mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers ...

** Intervention Regiment ** Lions of Dwel’a *

Khaybar KhaybarOther standardized Arabic transliterations: / . Anglicized pronunciation: , . ( ar, خَيْبَر, ) is an oasis situated some north of the city of Medina in the Medina Province of Saudi Arabia. Prior to the rise of Islam in the 7t ...

Brigade * Fawj Nusur

Other Syrian intelligence agencies

* General Security 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 ...

* Military Intelligence Directorate

References

{{Authority control Syrian intelligence agencies Syrian Air Force Air intelligence