The Information Branch, also the Information Department (Arabic: شعبة المعلومات/فرع المعلومات, commonly known as al-maʿlumāt "The Information"), is the intelligence unit of the Lebanese Internal Security Forces Directorate, founded on August 6, 1993 under decree No. 3904. Its main tasks include gathering national and military intelligence, criminal investigation,[1] espionage, counterintelligence, and counter-terrorism. Acting as a counterweight to the Lebanese Armed Forces's intelligence unit, the newly-formed security apparatus was largely trained and supplied by the United States, France, and Germany.