The Syrian Special Mission Forces () was a

quick reaction force A rapid reaction force / rapid response force (RRF), quick reaction force / quick response force (QRF), immediate reaction force (IRF), rapid deployment force (RDF), or quick maneuver force (QMF) is a military or Law enforcement agency, law enf ...

of the

Ministry of Interior An interior ministry or ministry of the interior (also called ministry of home affairs or ministry of internal affairs) is a government department that is responsible for domestic policy, public security and law enforcement. In some states, th ...

Ba'athist Syria Ba'athist Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic (SAR), was the Syrian state between 1963 and 2024 under the One-party state, one-party rule of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Syria Region, Syrian regional branch of the Ba'ath Party (Syri ...

. They were tasked with defending against attacks on government-controlled parts of

Aleppo Aleppo is a city in Syria, which serves as the capital of the Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Governorates of Syria, governorate of Syria. With an estimated population of 2,098,000 residents it is Syria's largest city by urban area, and ...

and

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

, and other urban settings.

Equipment

The unit received military training and weapons from Russia. The unit was comparable to the Russian ODON. The SSMF used Russian-suppiled

AK-103 The AK-103 is an assault rifle designed by Russian small arms designer Mikhail Kalashnikov. History The AK-103 was officially offered for export on March 13, 1993. Design details It is an AK-100 derivative of the AK-74M that is chambered ...

and

AK-104 The AK-104 is a carbine variant of the AK-103 chambered in 7.62×39mm which feeds from any standard 7.62x39 AK pattern magazine. Design The AK-104 is a 314mm (12.4 in) barreled carbine in the AK-100 series of rifles, the dimensions of the gun i ...

as the main service rifles, the former main rifles were the

AK-47 The AK-47, officially known as the Avtomat Kalashnikova (; also known as the Kalashnikov or just AK), is an assault rifle that is chambered for the 7.62×39mm cartridge. Developed in the Soviet Union by Russian small-arms designer Mikhail Kala ...

and most likely, the AKM as well. From 2023 to 2024, SMF also used Iranian copy of the

M4 carbine The M4 carbine (officially Carbine, Caliber 5.56 mm, M4) is a 5.56×45mm NATO assault rifle developed in the United States during the 1980s. It is a shortened version of the M16A2 assault rifle. The M4 is extensively used by the US mi ...

, Fajr 224. According to

Al-Masdar News ''Al-Masdar News'' (sometimes abbreviated ''AMN'') () was an online newspaper founded by Leith Abou Fadel. Al-Masdar is Arabic for "the source". ''Al-Masdar''s coverage focuses largely on conflict zones in the Middle East: Syria, Yemen, and Ir ...

, the Special Mission Forces were mainly, although not exclusively, intended for urban security actions, as well as carrying out force protection and security operations against terrorist activities.

Battles

reported in 2017 that the force had foiled attacks by terrorists in the western suburbs and the Old City of

. Not limited to city defense, the Syrian Special Mission Forces attacked behind enemy lines during the Syrian Army’s

siege of Eastern Ghouta The siege of Eastern Ghouta was a siege that was laid by Syrian Government forces in April 2013, to the area in eastern Ghouta held by anti-government forces since November 2012, during the Syrian civil war. The cities and villages under siege ...

. They had more experience than the

National Defence Forces The National Defense Forces (NDF; ''Quwāt ad-Difāʿ al-Watanī'') was a Syrian paramilitary volunteer militia, that was formed on 1 November 2012 and organized by Ba'athist Syria during the Syrian civil war as a part-time volunteer reserve co ...

, with many having served as military officers, some with experience in the Syrian

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 ...

. At the time, it was anticipated that after the war was over and the conflict in the area dissipated, they would help contribute to the rebuilding of Syria.Newly formed Syrian Special Mission Forces prove effective against jihadist groups, al-Masdar News, 01-05-17
/ref>

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Syrian Special Mission Forces Pro-Assad factions of the Syrian civil war Non-military counterinsurgency organizations 2014 establishments in Syria Law enforcement in Syria Special forces of Syria

Equipment

Battles

See also

Notes