Following the reorganization of the Syrian army, in which all five newly established regional corps were placed under commanders with jihadist backgrounds, the new regime has continued reshaping Syria’s security establishment. On July 19, 2026, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa announced a series of senior security appointments, including the Director of the National Security Office, the Director of the General Intelligence Service, the Deputy Director of the National Security Office, and the Assistant Minister of Interior for Security Affairs.
An examination of the four newly appointed officials reveals a clear pattern: all of them have jihadist backgrounds. This is not an isolated development, but rather part of a broader and ongoing trend in which the security institutions of the new Syrian state continue to rely heavily on a leadership cadre that emerged from jihadist organizations.
Below is an overview of the four new appointments and the background of each official.
Anas Khattab (أنس خطاب) – Minister of Interior and Director of the National Security Office
Following the fall of the Assad regime, Anas Khattab was appointed Director of the General Intelligence Service, later became Minister of Interior, and has now also assumed leadership of the National Security Office– the body responsible for overseeing and coordinating the work of the Ministry of Interior, the Internal Security Forces, and the General Intelligence Service. This concentration of authority underscores his position as one of the most powerful figures within Syria’s security establishment.
Khattab also known by the nom de guerre Abu Ahmad Hudud (أبو أحمد حدود), and considered one of the most senior and influential figures in Syria’s Salafi-jihadist movement.
In 2008, he left Syria for Iraq to join the fight against U.S. forces during the Iraq War. During this period, he operated within Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) under the leadership of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, where he was responsible for facilitating the reception and movement of foreign fighters into Iraq through the Syrian border.
With the outbreak of the Syrian civil war, Khattab became one of the founders of Jabhat al-Nusra, Al-Qaeda’s affiliate in Syria. He later rose to become one of the senior leaders of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). Over the years, he served as a member of the organization’s Shura Council, headed its General Security Apparatus, and was responsible for internal security, intelligence, and counterintelligence. He is regarded as one of Ahmed al-Sharaa’s closest associates and most trusted confidants.
Due to his activities within Jabhat al-Nusra and HTS, Khattab has been subject to international sanctions. In 2014, the United States designated him as a terrorist, and in 2017, the U.S. State Department’s Rewards for Justice program offered a $10 million reward for information leading to his capture because of his senior role in an Al-Qaeda-affiliated organization.
Abdul Qader Tahan (عبد القادر طحان) – Director of the General Intelligence Service
Following the fall of the Assad regime, Abdul Qader Tahan was appointed Deputy Minister of Interior. He has now been promoted to head the General Intelligence Service, one of Syria’s principal security agencies.
Tahan, also known by the nom de guerre Abu Bilal Quds (أبو بلال قدس), began his career within the rebel movement in northern Syria. In mid-2012, he founded Katibat al-Quds (كتيبة القدس), which later expanded and was renamed Kata’ib al-Quds al-Islamiyya (كتائب القدس الإسلامية). The choice of name appears significant. Within Salafi-jihadist ideology, “al-Quds” (Jerusalem) serves as a central symbol in the narrative of global jihad, while the later addition of the term “Islamic” reflects a clear affinity with the ideological framework and symbolism characteristic of the Salafi-jihadist movement.
Tahan later joined Jabhat al-Nusra, and after the establishment of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), continued to hold a series of command and security positions within the organization.
Mulham al-Shantout (ملهم محمود العليوي الشنتوت) – Assistant Minister of Interior for Security Affairs
Al-Shantout was appointed Assistant Minister of Interior for Security Affairs, having previously served as Commander of Internal Security in Hama Governorate.
He was previously affiliated with Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). However, unlike several of the other appointees, publicly available information regarding his activities within the organization is limited, making it difficult to determine the specific roles he held.
During his tenure as Commander of Internal Security in Hama, he led security and law enforcement operations against elements associated with the former regime, addressed serious criminal activity, and participated in internal security operations under the Ministry of Interior. In addition, he represented the ministry at an international conference on security and crime.
In March 2026, his name surfaced in connection with events in the Christian town of al-Suqaylabiyah, after the Syrian Center for Human Rights alleged that he had prior knowledge of the attack on the town and instructed his forces not to intervene during its initial stages. Syrian authorities rejected these allegations, describing the incident as a local confrontation and stating that security forces acted to restore order and broker a reconciliation agreement.
Hussein al-Salama (حسين السلامة) – Deputy Director of the National Security Office
Hussein al-Salama has been appointed Deputy Director of the National Security Office, having previously served as Director of the General Intelligence Service.
Also known as Abu Musab al-Shuhail (أبو مصعب الشحيل), al-Salama was born in Deir ez-Zor Governorate in 1984. He initially engaged in da’wah (Islamic preaching) activities at the outbreak of the Syrian civil war before joining one of the earliest groups of Jabhat al-Nusra in 2012, shortly after the organization’s establishment.
Within Jabhat al-Nusra, he served as a commander in the eastern sector and was among the founders of the Mujahideen of the East Shura Council (Majlis Shura Mujahidi al-Sharqiya – مجلس شورى مجاهدي الشرقية), a framework that brought together jihadist and Islamist factions in eastern Syria and, among other activities, fought against ISIS. Following ISIS’s takeover of Deir ez-Zor in 2014, he withdrew with Jabhat al-Nusra forces to northwestern Syria, where he remained with the organization throughout its successive transformations- from Jabhat Fatah al-Sham to Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).
He later joined the al-Fatah al-Mubin Operations Room, which coordinated the military activities of HTS and other factions in northwestern Syria. Following the fall of the Assad regime, he was appointed Governor of Deir ez-Zor Governorate.
