Current positions
Supported by independent sources
In July 2026 Ahmed al-Sharaa gave Interior Minister Anas Khattab the additional post of head of the National Security Bureau, which oversees Syria’s security agencies, while he continued to run the Interior Ministry, according to SANA as reported by Al Jazeera. 1
In May 2025 the Interior Ministry announced a new structure merging the police and public security agencies into a single Internal Security Command in each governorate. 2
Sanctions and their removal
Supported by independent sources
Khattab was listed on the UN ISIL (Da’esh) and Al-Qaida sanctions list under reference QDi.336 and designated by the United States as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist. On 6 November 2025 the UN Security Council delisted him together with Ahmed al-Sharaa; the next day the U.S. Treasury removed his designation. 3 4
The U.S. sanctions record lists the aliases “Abu Hamzah”, “Samir Ahmed al-Khayat” and “Hani”. 5 He is also widely referred to in the media as “Abu Ahmed Hudud”.
The General Security Service and evictions
The General Security Service, whose members Reuters and the UN Commission of Inquiry describe as involved in evictions of Alawite families, operates under the Interior Ministry. The ministry did not respond to Reuters’ questions; the government’s position is set out in its replies to the UN Commission of Inquiry. Neither source establishes the minister’s personal involvement. 6 7
Read the article on the evictions
Abductions of Alawite women
Supported by independent sources
In March 2026 the UN Commission of Inquiry reported that women and girls, mainly Alawite, had been abducted throughout 2025, and found that the authorities’ response varied from investigations not followed up to security officials discouraging families from pursuing cases, sometimes with threats. The Interior Ministry he heads said in November 2025 that only one of 42 reported abductions it had investigated was genuine. The sources do not attribute the abductions to the ministry or to Khattab. 7 8
Read the article on the abductions of Alawite women
The ministry and the July 2025 Sweida violence
Supported by independent sources
The Internal Security Forces of the Interior Ministry he heads took part in the July 2025 government operation in Sweida. The UN Commission of Inquiry documented killings and other violations against Druze civilians by members of government forces, including ISF personnel, and Amnesty International verified videos of armed men riding trucks marked with the ministry’s logo. The ministry condemned the videos of executions and pledged an investigation. Amnesty wrote to him and to the Defence Minister in August 2025 and received no response. The sources do not find that he ordered the violations. 9 10 11
