Center S (Центр С in

Cyrillic script The Cyrillic script ( ) is a writing system used for various languages across Eurasia. It is the designated national script in various Slavic languages, Slavic, Turkic languages, Turkic, Mongolic languages, Mongolic, Uralic languages, Uralic, C ...

) was a secret, joint, Russian–Syrian

signals intelligence Signals intelligence (SIGINT) is the act and field of intelligence-gathering by interception of ''signals'', whether communications between people (communications intelligence—abbreviated to COMINT) or from electronic signals not directly u ...

post near al-Harra in southwestern

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

close to the Israeli-occupied

Golan Heights The Golan Heights, or simply the Golan, is a basaltic plateau at the southwest corner of Syria. It is bordered by the Yarmouk River in the south, the Sea of Galilee and Hula Valley in the west, the Anti-Lebanon mountains with Mount Hermon in t ...

. Presumably existing since before 2006, it was over-run by

Free Syrian Army The Free Syrian Army (FSA; ) is a Big tent, big-tent coalition of decentralized Syrian opposition (2011–2024), Syrian opposition rebel groups in the Syrian civil war founded on 29 July 2011 by Colonel Riad al-Asaad and six officers who defe ...

rebels on 5 October 2014 during the Daraa offensive. It was recaptured by the

Syrian Army The Syrian Army is the land force branch of the Syrian Armed Forces. Up until the fall of the Assad regime, the Syrian Arab Army existed as a land force branch of the Syrian Arab Armed Forces, which dominanted the military service of the fo ...

during the

2018 Southern Syria offensive Eighteen or 18 may refer to: * 18 (number) * One of the years 18 BC, AD 18, 1918, 2018 Film, television and entertainment * ''18'' (film), a 1993 Taiwanese experimental film based on the short story ''God's Dice'' * ''Eighteen'' (film), a ...

Site and purpose

The Center was on the peak of Tel al-Hara mountain, adjacent to the town of al-Harra in the western part of the

al-Sanamayn District Al-Sanamayn District () is a district (mantiqah) administratively belonging to Daraa Governorate, Syria. At the 2004 Census it had a population of 167,993. Its administrative centre is the city of Al-Sanamayn Al-Sanamayn (, also spelled Sanamein, ...

of the

Daraa Governorate Daraa Governorate ( / ALA-LC: ') is one of the fourteen Governorates of Syria, governorates (provinces) of Syria. It is situated in the south-west of the country and covers an area of 2594 km2. It is bordered by Jordan to the south, Quneitra G ...

, near the

Quneitra Governorate Quneitra Governorate is one of the fourteen governorates (provinces) of Syria. It is situated in southern Syria, notable for the location of the Golan Heights. The governorate borders the countries of Lebanon, Jordan and Israel, and the Syrian ...

. The Center was operated on a joint Russian-Syrian basis, with Syrian Intelligence and the OSNAZ unit of the Russian GRU monitoring signals intelligence from Syrian rebels, as well as the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...

Overrun and recapture

On October 5, 2014, the Center was overrun by rebels affiliated with the

in the Daraa offensive. All Russian personnel had been evacuated, along with the more sensitive equipment. Center S was recaptured by SAA during the

Other centers

At least two other Russian intelligence centers are assumed to be located inside Syria.

References

{{Reflist Signals intelligence installations Military installations of Syria Military installations of Russia in Syria

Site and purpose

Overrun and recapture

Other centers

See also

References