Syrian regime's security services chief Ali Mamlouk held talks with Egyptian officials in Cairo over the weekend on a rare visit to the country, Syrian state-run news agency said Sunday.
His Saturday visit came "at the invitation of" Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel, the official SANA news agency said.
It came just one week after a surprise visit to Damascus by Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, who became the first Arab leader to visit the Syrian capital since the conflict began in March 2011.
Mamlouk and his Egyptian counterpart discussed topics of common concern including "political, security and counterterrorism issues", SANA said.
It was the second official visit by the secretive Syrian security official to the Egyptian capital since the outbreak of Syria's seven-year-old war.
His last trip to Cairo was in October 2016, according to SANA reporting at the time.
Mamlouk was appointed as the head of national security in 2012 after a major explosion in Damascus killed four top security officials.
He is considered to be a key member of President Bashar Assad's inner circle and is blacklisted under EU sanctions.
In November, France issued arrest warrants for three Syrian intelligence officials – including Mamlouk – wanted for "complicity in acts of torture" and "complicity in war crimes" among other charges.
AFP
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