Syria appoints Anas Khattab as Head of General Intelligence Directorate

Shafaq News/ On Thursday, the Syrian General Command appointed Anas Khattab as the Head of the country's General Intelligence Directorate, according to the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA).

Khattab, formerly known as Abu Ahmad Hudood, is a prominent security figure in Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), previously known as Jabhat al-Nusra, and is considered part of the inner circle surrounding Ahmad al-Sharaa, Syria’s new leader.

Born in 1987 in the town of Giroud, in the Damascus countryside, Khattab completed his secondary education before enrolling at the University of Damascus to study engineering. However, he did not complete his studies and left for Iraq during the US invasion.

In late 2013, Khattab became the administrative leader of Jabhat al-Nusra and a member of the group's Shura Council.

The newly appointed head of the General Intelligence Directorate was added to the terrorism list in September 2014 for his ties to Al-Qaeda. A UN Security Council Sanctions Committee report revealed that Khattab regularly communicated with Al-Qaeda’s leadership in Iraq to secure financial and material support, facilitating funding and weapons for Jabhat al-Nusra.