Insight: Assad Intelligence pierces Rebels groups

Bashar al-Assad's Air Force Intelligence had penetrated the free army FSA and the Islamic groups from top to bottom, even there are groups fully directed by intelligence forces, a well-informed source told Zaman Alwasl.

A spy network within rebel brigades has been discovered, working in favor of the regime and for Air Force Intelligence in particular, the source reported.

The spies who were arrested were members in some brigades and after interrogation they confess that their plans were causing contentions and troubles among rebels and brigades by circulating news about intentions of some group to assassinate leader of other brigades.

Moreover, they planned to assassinate large number of the largest brigade commanders in Hama including Ahmed Berri, the source added.

 Air Force Intelligence Headquarter in Aleppo considered the mpost powerfull HQ amid the regime security branches, ''It's very complicated, the employees are very distinctive and clever, who come in first rank in military courses, and it based on “sectarian balance,'' the source said

Aleppo branch staff around 200 employees, but pro-regime militia- Shabiha- are not allowed to enter the branch . The source revealed that the most influential person in the branch is the Major Mohammed Adib Salameh, Head of the branch, and General Zuhair Bitar, Head of Information Department of Civil and practically, is considered the most important officer in the branch. Abu Amir Salameh, retired colonel and responsible for dealing with shabiha and directs the Head’s Financial deals. The Head vice has no influence but only deals with tribes. Colonel Ali Hasna, responsible for transferring detainees to other provinces and follow the detainees with sensitive positions like “Alawites, important figures, military dissidents. He supervises and manages all assassinations for Alawites in particular, and he follow handing them to their parents as martyrs, to provoke the sect and the community.

the source said that Abu Amir Salameh’s driver called Tariq and he is pander and responsible for bringing women into the branch, as officers need to stay inside the branch most the time as they sent their families away. The source confirmed that General Zuhair Al Bitar has sent his wife and children to the United States of America to obtained asylum.

The source told Zaman Alwasl that dissidents are rare in the Air force intelligence, only three so far have defected, first one called Nazir Khalid and he was assassinated in “Andan" in Aleppo, and $ 3 million were paid for members in Free Syrian army to perform the operation. The second defector called Akram, and he was arrested in Damascus but no one knows what happened to him, but the source believed that he was killed. The third dissident called Khaled Mousa Abu Bilal, head of the Central Bureau.

“ The escape of one member of the Air forces intelligence is very serious, and more important than controlling a whole neighborhood by terrorists, and searching for him and killing him is more important than the killing a thousand terrorist", according to Major Adib Salameh in regard to the seriousness of dissidence.

The source indicated that pro-regime militia -Shbiha- did all the killing in “Alnahr massacre” in particular “Abo Ali Kazak” group, and most victims were arrested from Baghdad Station or detainees died under torture, he added that bodies were thrown interruptedly over a period of about a month . The source confirmed that the Air force intelligence in Aleppo has never been under siege and things have been going inside normally apart from few shells caused no harm or death to staff. He explained that there are more than 13 barriers around the branch, and the Free Syrian Army must pass them all before accessing the branch. Besides, there are groups of the Republican Guard, stressing that regime protects Air force intelligence branches and consider their fall a "red line" compared to the rest of the intelligence sites in the western regions of Aleppo.

The source also confirmed that there was no transfer of any documents outside the branch.

The source listed information but it was not possible to go into detail, the most important one was that University City was bombed by mistake by General Zuhair Bitar. Another Important information is that members of the family "al-Bijj" come to the branch hooded and it seems they have important tasks as there is special attention by the head of the branch Intelligence advised to keep the poor liberated areas under Free Syrian Army control, and there are many “Sleeper cells” in liberated areas and one of them in Dahrat Awwad. In regard to Scud missiles, the source said that Jamil Hassan is directly responsible for launching them and he aimed only to cause mess in the liberated areas. The source said that Major Adib Salameh expressed more than once that the Air force intelligence prefer increasing the number of Free Syrian Army fighting groups and battalions, as the more the better for the regime, and he saw that it would be better not to establish any civilian services like traffic police, sanitary or water in the liberated areas.