A lot of changes have taken place in Syria since Bashar al-Assad was ousted from power on 8 December by rebel groups led by the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group.
The new interim government have been making swift efforts to restructure the country’s state institutions following decades of Assad family rule.
The latest appointment made by Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, is Anas Khattab, a 37-year-old from the city of Jiroud in the Damascus countryside, who was made the country's new intelligence chief.
Khattab is a prominent figure in HTS and is largely considered to be one of the closest figures to Ahmed al-Sharaa.
Various reports state he speaks two languages, is highly cultured and was able to survive several military attacks, including an American one in 2014 east of Deir az-Zour.
He has long been shrouded in mystery, preferring to be out of the limelight.
No photos of him have been published of him in recent years, bar one photo showing him when he he was young.
In 2012 and 2014, the US and UN respectively placed him on international terrorism lists.
He was al-Sharaa’s first deputy and is responsible for matters of security in HTS, making him of significant importance.
Security and intelligence career
According to Syria TV, Khattab has a history of working in security and intelligence and moved to Iraq at a young age during the US invasion in 2003, before he assumed command of the borders with Syria in what was then the Islamic State in Iraq, earning him the nickname of ‘Abu Ahmed Hudood’ (hudood meaning borders in Arabic).
He later joined the Jabhat al-Nusra in 2012, which is how HTS was initially known, and came to be a close acquaintance of al-Sharaa.
According to some reports, the UN Security Council Sanctions Committee said that Khattab regularly communicated with Al-Qaeda’s leadership in Iraq to secure financial and material support, facilitating funding and weapons for Jabhat al-Nusra.
Reports state he went on to establish the general security service and a powerful security arm for al-Sharaa.
Khattab’s appointment has drawn some criticism from analysts, who fear that his new role can embolden extremists or derail efforts to stabilise the region.
Since rebel groups led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) toppled the Assad regime earlier this month, they now face the huge task of safeguarding a multi-sectarian and multi-ethnic country as well as tackling many economic and social issues.
Syria’s new interim government has promised to protect minorities, including the Alawite community which Assad hails from.
With 500,000 dead in the war - sparked by Assad's crackdown on democracy protests -and more than 100,000 missing, the new authorities have also pledged justice for the victims of abuses under the deposed ruler.