The ISIS Hunters (صاءدو داعش) were a special forces unit of the

Wagner group The Wagner Group (), officially known as PMC Wagner (, ), is a Russian state-funded private military company (PMC) controlled 2023 Wagner Group plane crash, until 2023 by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a former close ally of Russia's president Vladimir Pu ...

, formed in 2017 during the Syrian civil war. The unit was informal part of Wagner PMC in Syria. Between 2021 and 2023, the unit was formally dissolved. However, their actions and patches were still being posted on Russian Special Forces

Telegram Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas pi ...

, proving that the unit still existed and performed

special operations Special operations or special ops are military activities conducted, according to NATO, by "specially designated, organized, selected, trained, and equipped forces using unconventional techniques and modes of employment." Special operations ma ...

in 2024.

Foundation

The ISIS Hunters were formed in early 2017 after the rout of the Syrian regime's forces in the Battle of Palmyra in December 2016 Its name means "Islamic State Hunters", the acronym for the jihadist group being "ISIS" in English Its fighters are integrated into the 5th Army Corps, a formation formed in November 2016 with Russian support, composed entirely of volunteers According to Stéphane Mantoux, a history professor specializing in the Iraqi-Syrian conflict: "Russia is also seeking to build forces that can serve as a counterweight to Iran, whose objectives in Syria differ from those of Moscow" The training of the ISIS Hunters is supervised by the Russians and in particular by the private military company Groupe Wagner Its weapons and equipment are also supplied by Russia

History

The ISIS Hunters were formed in early 2017 after the

Syrian Arab Armed Forces The Syrian Arab Armed Forces (SAAF; ) were the combined armed forces of Syria from 1963 to 2024. They served during the rule of the Ba'ath Party in Syria. The SAAF consisted of the Syrian Arab Army, Syrian Arab Air Force, Syrian Arab Air De ...

were routed in the December 2016 battle of Palmyra. The group's fighters were integrated into the 5th Army Corps, a formation formed in November 2016 with Russian support, composed entirely of volunteers. Russia's goal in forming the ISIS Hunters was to combat

ISIS Isis was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingdom () as one of the main characters of the Osiris myth, in which she resurrects her sla ...

and build forces that can serve as a counterweight to

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 ...

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 ...

, as their objectives in the region differ from those of

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

. The training of the ISIS Hunters was supervised by the Russians, particularly by the private military company

Wagner Group The Wagner Group (), officially known as PMC Wagner (, ), is a Russian state-funded private military company (PMC) controlled 2023 Wagner Group plane crash, until 2023 by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a former close ally of Russia's president Vladimir Pu ...

, and their weapons and equipment are also supplied by

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

Personnel

The group's strength was likely less than 100 in total. No official number of "ISIS Hunters" troops have been published by Syria. The group's strength likely numbers a few dozen men; some of its fighters in propaganda videos appear to be particularly elderly

Areas of operation

In early 2017, the ISIS Hunters were operating in the Palmyra area, where they were responsible for protecting the military airport, as well as gas and oil fields. In February 2018, the ISIS Hunters were engaged in the

Battle of Khasham The Battle of Khasham, also known as the Battle of Conoco Fields, was a military engagement of the Syrian civil war fought on 7 February 2018 near the towns of Khasham and Al Tabiyeh in the Deir ez-Zor Governorate, Syria. The Operation Inher ...

near

Deir ez-Zor Deir ez-Zor () is the largest city in eastern Syria and the seventh largest in the country. Located on the banks of the Euphrates to the northeast of the capital Damascus, Deir ez-Zor is the capital of the Deir ez-Zor Governorate. In the 2018 ...

against the

Syrian Democratic Forces The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) is a Kurds in Syria, Kurdish-led coalition of U.S.-backed Left-wing politics, left-wing ethnic militias and rebel groups, and serves as the official military wing of the Democratic Autonomous Administration ...

. During this battle, they were subjected to U.S. bombing, resulting in the alleged loss of between 80 and 100 of their men. Following this incident, the group issued a statement about the casualties they suffered during the fighting, claiming to have lost twenty men during this fighting.

References

{{Syrian uprising (2011–present) Wagner Group activities in Syria Military units and formations disestablished in 2023