Syria's al-Sharaa reshuffles security and intelligence leadership

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa has carried out a major reshuffle of the country's security and intelligence leadership, expanding the powers of Interior Minister Anas Khattab and appointing a new intelligence chief. The changes, announced on Sunday, are part of a broader overhaul of state security bodies, according to the state news agency SANA.

Under the reshuffle, Interior Minister Anas Khattab was given the additional role of head of the National Security Bureau, which oversees Syria's various security agencies, while continuing to run the interior ministry. Hussein al-Salamah was named the bureau's deputy head, Mulham al-Shantout became assistant interior minister for security affairs, and Abdul Qader Tahan was appointed head of the General Intelligence Service.

Syrian authorities said the reshuffle aims to strengthen national security, promote stability, and remove obstacles to reconstruction. The General Intelligence Service is responsible for gathering intelligence, assessing domestic and foreign threats, and countering espionage and terrorism. The new intelligence chief now legally falls under Khattab's authority, consolidating oversight of Syria's security apparatus under one of the most powerful officials in al-Sharaa's government.

Omer Ozkizilcik, a nonresident senior fellow with the Atlantic Council's Syria Project, told Al Jazeera that the reshuffle reflects efforts to formalize power structures carried over from al-Sharaa's administration in Idlib, where Khattab oversaw both intelligence and policing duties that later overlapped with Salamah's responsibilities.

Syria's transitional government under al-Sharaa was formed a month after former President Bashar al-Assad fled to Russia in December 2024, ending decades of Assad family rule. Al-Sharaa's administration has sought to present itself as a unifying, reform-minded government while working to bring Syria's fragmented security structure under central control.

The reshuffle comes after a turbulent period for Syria's security services. On July 2, an explosion killed at least 10 people when it tore through a cafe near the main judicial complex in Damascus. Five days later, a person was killed and 36 wounded when explosive devices hidden in a rubbish bin and a parked car detonated in the capital as French President Emmanuel Macron met al-Sharaa at the presidential palace. Syrian authorities said they arrested members of an ISIL-linked cell blamed for both attacks.

Earlier this month, customs officers at the Iraqi border intercepted a shipment of missiles, rockets, and drones concealed in an oil tanker, which they said was bound for Hezbollah, the Iran-aligned group in Lebanon. Hezbollah denied the allegation.

During his visit, Macron restored full diplomatic relations with Syria. Days later, at a NATO summit in Turkiye, US President Donald Trump met al-Sharaa, and Washington announced it would remove Syria from its list of state sponsors of terrorism.