Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization (MİT) asked Britain’s MI6 last month to take on a larger role in protecting Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa following recent assassination plots, Reuters reported on Friday, citing five people familiar with the matter.
The request points to growing concern among Syria’s foreign backers about the safety of al-Sharaa, who they see as central to preventing a return to sectarian conflict or civil war after the fall of former president Bashar al Assad in late 2024.
Reuters said it was not clear what exactly MİT asked of MI6 or whether the British agency has assumed any new role. The news agency cited Syrian and foreign officials, along with other sources familiar with the matter, all of whom spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.
The report said anxiety has increased in recent weeks over a series of alleged Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) plots targeting al-Sharaa. A Turkish source told Reuters that MİT sought more support from MI6 after one such incident last month, while a senior Syrian security source described it as a “high-risk assassination plot.”
Reuters also reported that MİT, MI6 and Syrian authorities have been in constant intelligence-sharing over the threat.
A separate Western intelligence source cited by Reuters said Turkey may also want a stronger Western presence in Damascus to create a buffer between Turkish and Israeli intelligence agencies, whose governments are at odds over regional issues.
The report comes as Syria remains fragile 15 months after the overthrow of Assad, with sporadic violence continuing and the wider region shaken by the current war involving Iran, Israel and the United States.
Al-Sharaa is viewed by Turkey, Britain and the US as a key figure in efforts to reunify and stabilize Syria, where 14 years of civil war displaced millions of people and allowed ISIL to seize large areas of territory.
Last month ISIL increased attacks on Syrian military and security personnel and declared al-Sharaa its “number one foe.” The news agency also cited the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism as saying that al-Sharaa and two senior cabinet ministers were targeted in five foiled assassination attempts last year. Reuters had previously reported in November that Syrian authorities had thwarted two of those attempts.
On Thursday Damascus publicly acknowledged for the first time that it was coordinating with MİT against ISIL. Turkish security sources told the news agency that MİT had identified a three-man cell preparing remote bomb attacks in the Syrian capital, allowing Syrian authorities to prevent what they described as an imminent assault.
Reuters further reported that British involvement was discussed at a February 26 meeting in Damascus between a delegation led by Britain’s special envoy for Syria, Ann Snow, and Syria’s deputy interior minister, Maj. Gen. Abdulqader Tahan. A Syrian security source cited by Reuters said a physical British presence in Damascus would be “highly risky.”
MİT, Turkey’s Foreign Ministry, Britain’s Foreign Office and Syria’s defense and interior ministries did not respond to requests for comment.
Al-Sharaa, who once led al Qaeda’s Nusra Front in Syria before breaking with the group in 2016, later headed a coalition of Islamist rebel factions that toppled Assad.
