Ahmed Al-Sharaa, Syria’s de facto leader, reshuffled the leadership of the country’s security agencies, appointing Abdul Qader Tahan as head of the General Intelligence Service, about 10 days after bombings struck the capital, Damascus.
According to the Syrian Arab News Agency, the reshuffle also filled several senior positions: Anas Khattab was appointed head of the National Security Office in addition to his role as interior minister. Hussein Al-Salamah was named deputy head of the National Security Office, and Mulham Al-Shantout was appointed assistant interior minister for security affairs.
The news comes after two bombings struck Damascus earlier this month. An explosive device detonated at a café near the Palace of Justice on July 2, killing nine people and wounding 22 others. Five days later, on July 7, explosive devices detonated near the Four Seasons Hotel in central Damascus during French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to the city, injuring 18 people.
Tahan, the new head of Syria’s General Intelligence Service was among the leaders of the armed campaign that toppled Bashar Al-Assad’s regime. In 2012, he founded the Quds Battalion in western rural Aleppo and adopted the name Abu Bilal Quds.
The group fought several battles against Assad’s forces, and as its ranks grew, it changed its name to the Islamic Quds Brigades in October 2013 while retaining the same leadership.
In July 2015, the Brigades, led by Tahan, joined Al-Nusra Front, which later became Jabhat Fatah Al-Sham and then Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) under Ahmed Al-Sharaa’s leadership.
Tahan was placed in charge of HTS’s northern region, where he changed his name to Abdullah Amer Agha, then to Abu Amer Al-Halabi. He held several security posts within the group, serving as security chief for western Aleppo in 2016 and deputy security chief for Aleppo governorate in 2017.
Between 2021 and 2023, Tahan headed the Inspection and Oversight Directorate at the Interior Ministry in the Syrian Salvation Government, established in the Idlib governorate in 2017. Its authority extended across areas controlled by HTS.
After the Assad regime fell in December 2024, Tahan took command of the General Security Service. On May 25, 2025, he was appointed assistant interior minister for security affairs with the rank of major general. About nine months later, Al-Sharaa issued a decree appointing him deputy interior minister.
The Syrian opposition toppled Bashar Al-Assad’s regime on Dec. 8, 2024. Assad, who belongs to Syria’s Alawite minority, fled to Russia, his longtime backer, after HTS, formerly the Al-Nusra Front, launched an offensive under Al-Sharaa’s leadership on Nov. 27, 2024.
