Department 2800 is a specialized

Hezbollah Hezbollah ( ; , , ) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and paramilitary group. Hezbollah's paramilitary wing is the Jihad Council, and its political wing is the Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc party in the Lebanese Parliament. I ...

unit, historically responsible for training militants and conducting external special operations, primarily in

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

, and

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 ...

Origins & leadership

Department 2800 was established in the early 1980s as Hezbollah was consolidating its military and intelligence structures. In 1983, Ali Mussa Daqduq , a prominent Hezbollah commander, joined Hezbollah and was appointed as commander of Department 2800. Daqduq's leadership marked the unit's rise as a key player in Hezbollah's special operations, including coordination of large-scale operations and personal security for Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. Daqduq later led its successor, Unit 3800, focused on training

Shiite Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor (caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community (imam). However, his right is understood ...

militias aligned with

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

in Iraq and

Yemen Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...

Mission & activities

Initially, Department 2800 oversaw elite fighter training, including

guerrilla tactics Guerrilla warfare is a form of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, Partisan (military), partisans, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians, which may include Children in the military, recruite ...

intelligence gathering Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering, as a subfield of the intelligence field, is the act of obtaining secret or Confidentiality, confidential information (Intelligence (information), intelligence). A person who commits espionage on ...

, and targeted operations, reflecting Hezbollah's close ties with Iran's

Quds Force The Quds Force () is one of five branches of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). It specializes in unconventional warfare and military intelligence operations. U.S. Army's Iraq War General Stanley McChrystal describes the Quds Fo ...

. The unit was instrumental in developing Hezbollah's capacity for external operations, serving as a model for later units like Unit 3800, which focused on training and supporting Iraqi Shiite militias after the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq. Through its activities, Department 2800 has contributed to Hezbollah's reputation as a highly capable militant organization, able to conduct sophisticated operations both regionally and internationally.

Regional expansion and legacy

The operational experience and expertise developed in Department 2800 laid the foundation for Hezbollah's later involvement in regional proxy warfare, particularly in Iraq and Syria. Daqduq's leadership in Department 2800 and subsequent units demonstrates Hezbollah's close operational ties to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force (IRGC-QF), especially in training and supporting allied militias. After his release from Iraqi custody in 2012, Daqduq returned to Lebanon to train Hezbollah's elite forces and, starting in 2018, was tasked with building a clandestine Hezbollah network in southern Syria along the Israeli border.

Notable operations and developments

Department 2800's alumni, like Daqduq, have been linked to attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq, including the infamous January 20, 2007, Karbala raid that resulted in the deaths of five American soldiers. The unit's operational doctrine and personnel have influenced the structure and tactics of other Hezbollah special forces, such as the elite Radwan Force and the “Golan File” network in Syria.

Key figure

Ali Mussa Daqduq

Daqduq led Department 2800, coordinating personal security for Nasrallah, and later managed Unit 3800 activities in Iraq. He was detained by U.S. forces in 2007 over a deadly attack in

Karbala Karbala is a major city in central Iraq. It is the capital of Karbala Governorate. With an estimated population of 691,100 people in 2024, Karbala is the second largest city in central Iraq, after Baghdad. The city is located about southwest ...

and released in 2012. He subsequently led Hezbollah's “ Golan File” in southern Syria and served as deputy commander of the Radwan Force before being killed in an Israeli strike in November 2024.

References

{{Reflist Hezbollah Hezbollah members Hezbollah members by role