Mukhabarat is the Arabic term for intelligence and security services. In Syria under Hafez al-Assad, it refers collectively to four deliberately competing agencies — Military Intelligence, Air Force Intelligence, General Intelligence Directorate, and Political Security Directorate — each reporting directly to the president. The competition was designed: poor inter-agency coordination meant any conspiracy needed to penetrate multiple systems simultaneously, while Assad alone held the complete picture. Their detention facilities, including Saydnaya prison, became synonymous with torture and enforced disappearance. The Caesar photographs (2013–14) documented systematic killing of detainees. When Assad fell in December 2024, Saydnaya was opened and thousands of surviving prisoners released.