Syria's President Ahmad Al Shara has appointed a savvy commander in his former rebel group as his chief of intelligence to smooth over rivalries in the system, sources revealed on Wednesday.
There has been no official announcement regarding the appointment of Abdulqader Al Tahhan, who led operations against the former regime's backlines in the city of Aleppo at the start of the 11-day offensive that ousted it in December 2024. The offensive was led by Hayat Tahrir Al Sham (HTS), a former Al Qaeda affiliate founded and commanded by Mr Al Shara.
Mr Al Tahhan replaces Hussein Al Salama, who was appointed as head of the National Security Council. Mr Al Salama will still have access to Mr Al Shara in his new position. However, he will be less involved in the daily running of the country's security affairs, the sources said.
The change comes as the new government deals with multiple security issues. It also has complex ties with outside powers who support the Syrian security forces but have different goals in the country.
A regional source in contact with Syrian security officials said the changes appeared to be aimed at solving turf warfare between Mr Al Salama and Anas Al Khattab, the Interior Minister. Mr Al Khattab and Mr Al Salama were, along with Mr Al Shara, founders of the Nusra Front, the Al Qaeda affiliate and nucleus of what became HTS.
“Al Shara made a smart move. Duplication was beginning to take place between the Interior Ministry and intelligence,” the source said. They added that Mr Al Tahhan, who was deputy interior minister, is close to Mr Khattab.
Among the main issues Mr Al Tahhan handled was the southern governorate of Sweida, the heartland of the Druze minority. In July 2025, Israeli military intervention halted a government offensive to subdue the mostly Druze province. However, it is still surrounded by government forces. Damascus has also restricted supplies to Sweida and is backing a local faction opposed to Sheikh Hikmat Al Hijri, a prominent Druze spiritual figure in Sweida, who leads the Druze opposition to Damascus.
A Western diplomat who has met Mr Al Tahhan described him as one of the “most sophisticated” security figures in the new system and said he had shown flexibility and willingness to make decisions that others are afraid to take for fear of angering higher-ups in the government.
A security official in northern Syria, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed the appointment of Mr Al Tahhan, and said that he was among the “highest level” security figures in the country since the fall of the regime, although his rank was only deputy interior minister.
During Syria's 2011 to 2024 civil war, Mr Al Tahhan founded an Islamist rebel battalion in the north of Aleppo governorate and became known by his nom de guerre, Abu Billal Al Quds. He later joined HTS and gained a reputation as one of its most astute commanders.
The removal of Bashar Al Assad and his regime ended decades of dictatorship, underpinned by the security apparatus, that had endured since a 1963 coup by mostly Alawite officers in the Sunni-majority country. However, the nascent intelligence establishment since the Sunni ascendancy has been a main tool of power consolidation for Mr Al Shara.
In recent months, the authorities mounted a crackdown on critics of the new system, although it has been mild compared with the actions of the former regime. The authorities also restricted freedom of assembly, and signalled disapproval of any moves to set up political parties. Mr Al Shara has promised free, general elections by 2027, at the conclusion of a transition to pluralism.
However, some Kurdish population centres are also outside the control of Damascus, as well as areas near the border with the occupied Golan Heights, where Israeli forces occupied further Syrian territory near a 1974 demilitarised zone, soon after the former regime fell.
Turkey, the main backer of Mr Al Shara in the region, has supported the military campaigns in the east and south, and is seen as not wholly supportive of US efforts to forge peace deals between Syria and Israel. However, both Washington and Ankara have security links with Damascus, and Mr Al Tahhan may have to accommodate different demands from the new powers, the sources said. Washington admitted Syria to the anti-ISIS coalition at the end of last year, and its anti-terrorism co-operation with Damascus has centred on intelligence sharing.
The last major security system change by Mr Al Shara was in May last year, when he established the National Security Council. Its main members, in addition to Mr Al Salama, are Mr Al Tahhan, Mr Al Khattab, Defence Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra and Foreign Minister Asaad Al Shibani, who is seen as one of the closest Syrian officials to Turkey.
