'Syrian General Intelligence Directorate (GID) Branch 251 (Arabic: إدارة المخابرات العامة الفرع الداخلي (251)), also known as internal branch or Al-Khatib branch,[1][2][3] was the unit of the Syrian General Intelligence Directorate under the Assad regime concerned with internal security.
[4] Branch 251 operates Al-Khatib prison, a detention and torture center located in the Muhajreen neighborhood in central Damascus.
Anwar Raslan, the former Syrian colonel who was convicted of crimes against humanity and sentenced to life in prison in Germany, commanded a unit in Branch 251.
[5] The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria identified Branch 251 and Al-Khatib prison as a facility controlled by the Syrian General Intelligence Directorate where death in detention and torture have occurred.
13572 for being a senior official of the Syrian GID and subject to US Treasury sanctions.