The 15th Special Forces Division () was a division of the

Syrian Armed Forces The Syrian Armed Forces () are the military forces of Syria. Up until the fall of Bashar al-Assad's Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Syria Region, Ba'ath Party Ba'athist Syria, regime in December 2024, the Syrian Arab Armed Forces were the sta ...

specializing in

light infantry Light infantry refers to certain types of lightly equipped infantry throughout history. They have a more mobile or fluid function than other types of infantry, such as heavy infantry or line infantry. Historically, light infantry often fought ...

operations, based in the

As-Suwayda Governorate As-Suwayda or Al-Suwayda Governorate () is one of the fourteen governorates (provinces) of Syria. It is the southernmost governorate, covering an area of 5,550 km², and is part of the historic Hawran region. The capital and largest city of ...

.Syria - The Special Forces and the Elite Units
/ref> The Division was part of the Syrian Army's 1st Corps.

Role

Syrians used the term "Special Forces" to describe the 14th, 15th divisions, as well as the independent "special forces" regiments, but they more closely resemble conventional light infantry units, than

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

Special Forces Special forces or special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...

in both mission and composition. The term Special Forces was applied ostensibly because of their specialized training in airborne and

air assault Air assault is the movement of ground-based military forces by vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft, such as helicopters, to seize and hold key terrain that has not been fully secured, and to directly engage enemy forces behind enemy l ...

operations, but they were regarded as light infantry forces and elite only in relation to the conventional armored and mechanized brigades of the Syrian Army.

Command structure

;15th Special Forces Division (2022) * 35th Special Forces Regiment * 44th Special Forces Regiment * 127th Special Forces Regiment * 404th Armored Regiment * 405th Armored Regiment * 176th Artillery Battalion

Combat history

Holliday wrote in 2013 that "the 15th Special Forces Division is a relatively recent formation, established between the mid-1990s restructuring of Ali Haidar’s former Special Forces Command" and the beginning of the Syrian Civil War. Since it was founded, the division comprised four regiments under the leadership of Major General Jihad Jaber, the commander of First Corps, and its leader, former Major General Fuad Hamoudeh, Brigadier General Esber Abboud, Brigadier General Ahmed Younis al Oukda, commander of the 404th Tank Regiment, Ahmed el Kousa, commander of the 405th Artillery Regiment, and Brigadier Hassan Aizora, commander of the 44th Special Forces regiment.

Syrian Civil War

Consistent reporting in mid-February 2012 showed that all three regiments of the 15th Special Forces Division had left their bases near the

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

ian border to join the fight in

Homs Homs ( ; ), known in pre-Islamic times as Emesa ( ; ), is a city in western Syria and the capital of the Homs Governorate. It is Metres above sea level, above sea level and is located north of Damascus. Located on the Orontes River, Homs is ...

. The Syrian Government committed at least one Special Forces regiment to Idlib in 2011 and strongly reinforced the region with three additional Special Forces regiments, an armored brigade, and a detachment of 4th Armored Division troops by the spring of 2012. The 76th Armored Brigade and 41st Special Forces Regiment arrived in Idilb by late February 2012, establishing positions in the north and south of

Idlib Governorate Idlib Governorate ( / ALA-LC: ''Muḥāfaẓat Idlib'') is one of the 14 governorates of Syria. It is situated in northwestern Syria, bordering Turkey's Hatay province to the north, Aleppo Governorate to the east, Hama Governorate to the sou ...

respectively. Two of the Special Forces regiments that participated in the February 2012 siege of Homs also moved to Idilb, namely, the 15th Division's 35th Special Forces Regiment, which moved to Jisr al-Shughour, where it secured the key line of communication to coastal

Latakia Latakia (; ; Syrian Arabic, Syrian pronunciation: ) is the principal port city of Syria and capital city of the Latakia Governorate located on the Mediterranean coast. Historically, it has also been known as Laodicea in Syria or Laodicea ad Mar ...

, and the 14th Division's 556th Special Forces Regiment, which occupied positions south of

Maarrat al-Nu'man Maarat al-Numan (), also known as al-Ma'arra, is a city in northwestern Syria, south of Idlib and north of Hama, with a population of about 58,008 before the Civil War (2004 census). In 2017, it was estimated to have a population of 80,000, inc ...

. Elements of the 4th Armored Division also moved to northern Syria after the siege of

, but it is unclear how long those elite forces remained. Most of the Division's reported activity in the north took place that spring, and it is difficult to see whether activity or reporting tapered off. In mid-March 2012, troops from the 4th Armored Division, 76th Armored Brigade, and 35th Special Forces Regiment quickly cleared rebels out of

Idlib Idlib (, ; also spelt Idleb or Edlib) is a city in northwestern Syria, and is the capital of the Idlib Governorate. It has an elevation of nearly above sea level, and is southwest of Aleppo. It is located near the border with Turkey. History ...

city, but pushed rebels into the surrounding countryside in the process. The operation represented a relatively modest force commitment. Imagery released by the U.S. State Department showed between thirty and thirty-five armored vehicles encircling Idilb in the operation, which represents far less than one brigade's worth of vehicles according to Syrian Army doctrine. Since 2019, the 15th Division was under rebuilding process. It was reorganized and supplied with graduates of the military academies.

Loyalty to the government

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Headquartered in New York City, the group investigates and reports on issues including War crime, war crimes, crim ...

and Washington Institute reports seemed to confirm the existence of the 15th Special Forces Division, which appeared to have remained steadfastly loyal to the government.

References

External links

*Washington Institute

*

Structure and Command of Armed Forces and Intelligence Agencies
16 December 2011 *Joseph Holliday, "The Assad Regime: From Counterinsurgency to Civil War", Institute for the Study of War, March 2013. Seemingly the best concise description and analysis of the Syrian Army and its involvement in the current Syrian Civil War. {{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 Divisions of Syria Special forces units and formations Special forces of Syria History of as-Suwayda Governorate Military units and formations established in the 1990s Military units and formations disestablished in 2024