Directorate of General Security
| al-Amn al-‘Amm | |
DGS logo
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| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 1921 under the Ministry of the Interior |
| Dissolved | 2003 |
| Jurisdiction | Government of Iraq |
| Headquarters | Baghdad, Iraq |
| Employees | 10,000 (2002) |
| Agency executive |
|
| Parent agency | Independent |
The Directorate of General Security (DGS) also called Internal State Security, secret police or some variation thereof (Arabic: al-Amn al-‘Amm or simply Amn) was a domestic Iraqi intelligence agency.
The DGS was founded in 1921 during the Iraqi monarchy, and it operated under the Ministry of the Interior until 1968. Its police and army officers were charged with the "general security of the state and its property", which included the use of torture and monitoring of dissent.
Nadhim Kzar was named director by Saddam Hussein in 1969 after DGS had deteriorated under 10 years (1958–1968) of army rule. Kzar was known for his sadism, and during his term the DGS tortured and killed thousands. Much of this violence was directed against the Iraqi Communist Party and Iraqi Kurds; in fact, Kzar twice attempted to assassinate Kurdish leader Mustafa Barzani.
Kzar was a Shia Muslim and was angered by the Sunni hold on power in Iraq. Motivated by this he led an ultimately unsuccessful coup in 1973 against President Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr, including taking hostage both the Minister of the Interior Sa'adiun Gheidan and the Army Chief of Staff and Minister of Defense General Hamid Shehab. Bakr was supposed to be assassinated when his plane landed in Baghdad, but a flight delay caused Kzar to abort the assassination and flee. As his convoy attempted to escape to Iran, Iraqi helicopter gunships attacked, leading to his capture and the death and wounding of General Shehab and Minister Gheidan respectively. Kzar was found guilty on July 7 by the Iraqi Revolutionary Command Council under Izzat Ibrahim ad-Douri and executed that same month for his actions.
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