Assad appoints sanctioned general as head of Air Force Intelligence
RAQQA, Syria (North Press) – Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has appointed Qahtan Khalil as the Director of the Syrian Air Force Intelligence, replacing Ghassan Ismail, who held the position since July 2019.
Khalil, also known as the Darayya Butcher, was directly involved in the infamous Darayya Massacre in the summer of 2012 in which around 700 Syrians were killed. Recently, he served as a Major General in the Air Force Intelligence branch, leading the security committee in southern Syria.
Khalil, sanctioned in July 2021 by U.S. Department of the Treasury, is accused of participating in acts of torture and the unlawful killing of detainees within the Mezzeh military prison and the investigation branch of Air Force Intelligence located at Mezzeh Military Airport, east of Damascus. In October 2019, he was appointed as the head of the security committee with the aim of enhancing security control in Daraa Governorate, in southern Syria.
In July 2018, Khalil was promoted to the rank of Major General, taking over from Ghassan Ismail, who was reportedly involved in corruption and held accountable for the military academy massacre in Homs, central Syria, in October 2023. The attack, carried out by a drone, claimed the lives of nearly 100 newly graduated officers. The Air Force Intelligence was responsible for overseeing the graduation ceremony at the intelligence level.
Khalil previously served as the Deputy Director of the Air Force Intelligence under the leadership of Director Major General Jamil al-Hassan, who was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury in May 2011.