The Military Intelligence Directorate (MID; ) was the

military intelligence Military intelligence is a military discipline that uses information collection and analysis List of intelligence gathering disciplines, approaches to provide guidance and direction to assist Commanding officer, commanders in decision making pr ...

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 ...

Ba'athist Syria Ba'athist Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic (SAR), was the Syrian state between 1963 and 2024 under the One-party state, one-party rule of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Syria Region, Syrian regional branch of the Ba'ath Party (Syri ...

until 2024. Although its roots go back to the French mandate period, 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 organization was called the Second Bureau. It was headquartered at the Defense Ministry building in

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

. The military intelligence service, or the '' Mukhabarat'' in Arabic, was very influential in Syrian politics.

Organization

The Military Intelligence Directorate was under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Defense. The MID was also controlled by the former

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: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Bashar al-Assad Bashar al-Assad (born 11September 1965) is a Syrian politician, military officer and former dictator Sources characterising Assad as a dictator: who served as the president of Syria from 2000 until fall of the Assad regime, his government ...

through the National Security Bureau of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party Central Command. It was divided into eleven branches: * Technical (Computers) Branch (Branch 211) * Raids and Storming Branch (Branch 215) * Patrols Branch (Branch 216) * Front Intelligence Branch (Branch 220) * Internal and External Communications Branch (Branch 225) * Palestine Branch (Branch 235) * Wireless Branch (Branch 237) * Political Guidance Branch (Branch 248) * External Security Branch (Branch 279) * Officers Affairs Branch (Branch 293) *

Armed Forces A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a ...

Security Branch (Branch 294)

Responsibility

The MID was responsible for providing intelligence on foreign and internal threats to the deposed

Government of Syria The government of Syria takes place in a presidential system and is currently in a transitionary period under and led by a transitional government. The seat of the government is located in Damascus, Syria. On 8 December 2024, after the succe ...

, the former

Syrian Armed Forces The Syrian Armed Forces () are the military forces of Syria. Up until the fall of Bashar al-Assad's Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Syria Region, Ba'ath Party Ba'athist Syria, regime in December 2024, the Syrian Arab Armed Forces were the sta ...

or the

national security National security, or national defence (national defense in American English), is the security and Defence (military), defence of a sovereign state, including its Citizenship, citizens, economy, and institutions, which is regarded as a duty of ...

of Syria. The service also monitored opponents of the former government inside/outside Ba'athist Syria. MID was both a foreign intelligence and a military security/

counterintelligence Counterintelligence (counter-intelligence) or counterespionage (counter-espionage) is any activity aimed at protecting an agency's Intelligence agency, intelligence program from an opposition's intelligence service. It includes gathering informati ...

service. During the

Syrian occupation of Lebanon The Syrian occupation of Lebanon lasted from 31 May 1976, beginning with the Syrian intervention in the Lebanese Civil War, until 30 April 2005. This period saw significant Syrian military and political influence over Lebanon, impacting its g ...

, the Mukhabarat exercised political authority in

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

. After

Cedar Revolution The Cedar Revolution (), also known as the Independence uprising (), was a chain of demonstrations in Lebanon (especially in the capital Beirut) triggered by the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri. The popular movemen ...

and Syrian withdrawal in 2005, it ended. It was suspected of providing logistic and material support to different Palestinian or Lebanese radical groups.

Directors

Abdel Hamid al-Sarraj Abdul Hamid Sarraj (, September 1925 – 23September 2013) was a Syrian military officer and politician. When the United Arab Republic (the union between Egypt and Syria) was declared, Sarraj, a staunch Arab nationalist and supporter of Egyp ...

(1954–1958) * Salah Nasr (1958–1961) * Rashid al-Qutayni (1961–1963) * Ahmed Suidani (1963–1965) * Ali Zaza (1965–1970) :* Deputy Director:

Hikmat al-Shihabi Hikmat al-Shihabi (; 8 January 1931 – 5 March 2013) was a Syrian military officer who served as the chief of staff of the Syrian Army from 1974 to 1998. A Sunni Muslim, he was considered one of the few non-Alawite members of the inner circle ...

(1968–1970) *

(1970–1973) :* Deputy Director: Ali Duba (1971–1973) * Ali Duba (1973–2000) :* Deputy Director: Hassan Khalil (1993–2000) * Hassan Khalil (2000–2005) :* Deputy Director: Assef Shawkat (2000–2005) * Assef Shawkat (2005–2009) :* Deputy Director: Saeed Sammour (2005–2009) * Abdel-Fatah Qudsiyeh (July 2009–July 2012) :* Head of Internal Affairs (branch 293): Rafiq Shahadah (2011) * Rafiq Shahadah (July 2012 – March 2015) * Mohamed Mahala (March 2015 – March 2019) :* Deputy Director: Kifah Moulhem (March 2015 – March 2019) * Kifah Moulhem (March 2019 – 18 January 2024) :* Deputy Director: Kamal Hassan (July 2023 – 18 January 2024) * Kamal Hassan (18 January – 8 December 2024) :* Deputy Director: Mufid Khadour (18 January – 8 December 2024)

Regional Directors

* Rif Dimashq (Branch 227): ** Lt. Gen. Rustum Ghazali (2005 – 25 July 2012), the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

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 certain serious crimes committed as part of a large-scale attack against civilians. Unlike war crimes, crimes against humanity can be committed during both peace and war and against a state's own nationals as well as ...

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Headquartered in New York City, the group investigates and reports on issues including War crime, war crimes, crim ...

. ** Brig. Gen. Kamal Hassan (2020–2023) *

(Branch 215): ** Brig. Gen. Sha'afiq (2012) accused of ordering or committing crimes against humanity. * Damascus (Branch 235 a.k.a. " Palestine Branch"): ** Brig. Gen. Muhammad Khallouf (2012) accused of ordering or committing crimes against humanity. ** Brig. Gen. Kamal Hassan (2017–2020) * Damascus (Branch 248): Brig. Gen. Yousef Abdou (2012) accused of ordering or committing crimes against humanity. * Damascus (Branch 290): Brig. Gen. Wafiq Nasser (2017–2018) * Damascus (Branch 291): Brig. Gen. Burhan Qadour (past–2012) accused of ordering or committing crimes against humanity. *

Hama Hama ( ', ) is a city on the banks of the Orontes River in west-central Syria. It is located north of Damascus and north of Homs. It is the provincial capital of the Hama Governorate. With a population of 996,000 (2023 census), Hama is one o ...

(Branch 219): ** Mohammad Mufleh (2011), the European Union sanctioned him for being involved in the crackdown on demonstrators during the Syrian uprising. ** Brig. Gen. Wafiq Nasser (2018–2020) ** Brig. Gen. Ibrahim Abbas (2021–2024) *

Deir ez-Zor Deir ez-Zor () is the largest city in eastern Syria and the seventh largest in the country. Located on the banks of the Euphrates to the northeast of the capital Damascus, Deir ez-Zor is the capital of the Deir ez-Zor Governorate. In the 2018 ...

(Branch 243): ** Jameh Jameh (2011–2013), the European Union sanctioned him for being directly involved in repression and violence against the civilian population in

and

Abu Kamal Abu Kamal (), also known as Al-Bukamal (), is a city in eastern Syria located on the Euphrates river in the Deir ez-Zor Governorate and near the border with Iraq. It is the administrative centre of the Abu Kamal District and the local subdistr ...

during the Syrian uprising. *

Idlib Idlib (, ; also spelt Idleb or Edlib) is a city in northwestern Syria, and is the capital of the Idlib Governorate. It has an elevation of nearly above sea level, and is southwest of Aleppo. It is located near the border with Turkey. History ...

(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 ( ; ), known in pre-Islamic times as Emesa ( ; ), is a city in western Syria and the capital of the Homs Governorate. It is Metres above sea level, above sea level and is located north of Damascus. Located on the Orontes River, Homs is ...

(Branch 261): ** 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. ** Brig. Gen. Emad Mayhoub (2020–2024) *

Tartus Tartus ( / ALA-LC: ''Ṭarṭūs''; known in the County of Tripoli as Tortosa and also transliterated from French language, French Tartous) is a major port city on the Mediterranean coast of Syria. It is the second largest port city in Syria (af ...

city branch: ** Brig. Gen. Emad Mayhoub (2018–2020) *

Daraa Daraa (, Levantine Arabic: ) is a city in southwestern Syria, north of the border with Jordan. It is the capital of Daraa Governorate in the Hauran region. Located south of Damascus on the Damascus–Amman highway, it serves as a way sta ...

(Branch 245): ** Brig. Gen. Louay al-Ali (2011–8 December 2024), 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 branch: ** Brig. Gen. Suheir Ramadan (?–2011) ** Brig. Gen. Wafiq Nasser (2011–2017) *

Aleppo Aleppo is a city in Syria, which serves as the capital of the Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Governorates of Syria, governorate of Syria. With an estimated population of 2,098,000 residents it is Syria's largest city by urban area, and ...

(Branch 290): ** Muhammad Duba (1974–1979) ** Brig. Gen. Wafiq Nasser (2020–2024) * Tadmur (Branch 221) *

Al-Hasakah Al-Hasakah (; / ; ) is a city in northeastern Syria and the capital of the Al-Hasakah Governorate. With a 2023 estimated population of 422,445, Al-Hasakah is populated by Kurds, Arabs, Assyrians and a smaller number of Armenians and Chechens. A ...

(Branch 222)

Paramilitary units

* Military Security Shield Forces ** Military Security Falcons ** Southern Shield Brigade * Al-Assad Shield Forces * Desert Commandos Regiment ** Lions of Hamidiya * Forces of the Fighters of the Tribes * Popular Resistance of the Eastern Region * Syrian Resistance ** Falcons of the Jazira and Euphrates

Other Syrian intelligence agencies

* National Security Bureau * Air Force Intelligence Directorate * General Intelligence Directorate * Political Security Directorate

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 Military units and formations disestablished in 2024 Torture in Syria