{{short description|Land force branch of the Syrian Armed Forces}} {{Infobox military unit | unit_name = Syrian Arab Army | native_name = {{nobold| الجيش العربي السوري}} | image = Emblem of the Syrian Army.svg | caption = Variation of the emblem of Syria used by the Syrian Army | image_size = 275px | start_date = 1 August 1945<ref>{{cite AV media|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIs7ruK24rY|title=Syria News 1 August 2013, President Bashar Al-Assad visits soldiers to mark Army Day and pledge victory|date=3 August 2013|via=YouTube|access-date=2015-10-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160324124620/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIs7ruK24rY|archive-date=2016-03-24|url-status=live}}</ref><br />2024 (current form) | country = {{SYR}} | type = Army | role = Land warfare
<!-- Manpower -->| size = ~100,000<ref>{{Cite web |last=Oweis |first=Khaled Yacoub |title=Syria has recruited half of planned 200,000-strong army, military sources say |url=https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/2025/06/03/hts-brings-in-100000-men-into-new-syrian-army/ |access-date=2025-07-08 |website=The National |language=en}}</ref>
<!-- Industrial -->| command_structure = {{flagicon image|Flag of the Syrian Armed Forces 2025.svg}} Syrian Armed Forces | garrison = Damascus | motto = "{{langx|ar|حُمَاةَ الديار}}" (''Guardians of the Homeland'') | colors = * Service uniform: Khaki, Olive<br />{{colour box|#C3B091}}{{colour box|#556B2F}} * Combat uniform: Green, Black, Khaki<br />{{colour box|#006400}}{{colour box|#000000}}{{colour box|#C3B091}} | anniversaries = August 1st | battles = {{tree list}} * Levant Crisis * 1948 Arab–Israeli War * Reprisal operations * First Iraqi–Kurdish War * Six-Day War * War of Attrition * Black September * Yom Kippur War * Lebanese Civil War ** Syrian Intervention ** 1982 Lebanon War * Islamist uprising in Syria * Gulf War * Operation Grapes of Wrath * Syrian civil war ** 2024 Syrian opposition offensives *** Battle of Aleppo (2024) *** Operation Dawn of Freedom *** 2024 Hama offensive *** Deir ez-Zor offensive (2024) *** 2024 Homs offensive *** Fall of Damascus * Syrian conflict (2024–present) ** Assadist insurgency *** Western Syria clashes **** March 2025 Western Syria clashes *** March 2025 Daraa clashes ** Druze insurgency *** 2025 Jaramana clashes *** Southern Syria clashes (April–May 2025) *** Southern Syria clashes (July 2025–present) ** SDF–Syrian Transitional Government clashes (2025–present) * Middle Eastern crisis (2023–present) ** Israeli invasion of Syria {{tree list/end}} | identification_symbol = border|200px | identification_symbol_label = Ensign | commander1 = President Ahmed al-Sharaa | commander1_label = Commander-in-Chief | commander2 = Murhaf Abu Qasra | commander2_label = Minister of Defense | commander3 = Ali Noureddine Al-Naasan | commander3_label = Chief of the General Staff }}
The '''Syrian Arab Army{{efn|{{langx|ar|الجيش العربي السوري|al-Jaysh al-'Arabi as-Sūrī}}}}''' is the land force branch of the Syrian Armed Forces. The Syrian Arab Army exists as the primary land force branch of the Syrian Armed Forces, which dominates the military service of the four uniformed services, controlling the most senior posts in the armed forces, and having the greatest manpower, approximately 80 percent of the combined services. The Syrian Arab Army originated in local military forces formed by the French after World War I, after France obtained a mandate over the region.{{sfn|Pollack|2002|p=447}} It officially came into being in 1945, before Syria obtained full independence the following year and 2 years after official independence.
After 1946, it played a major role in Syria's governance, mounting six military coups: two in 1949, including the March 1949 Syrian coup d'état and the August 1949 coup by Colonel Sami al-Hinnawi, and one each in 1951, 1954, 1963, 1966, and 1970. It fought four wars with Israel (1948, the Six-Day War in 1967, the Yom Kippur War of 1973, and 1982 Lebanon War) and one with Jordan ("Black September" in Jordan, 1970). An armored division was also deployed to Saudi Arabia in 1990–91 during the Gulf War, but saw little action. From 1976 to 2005 it was the major pillar of the Syrian occupation of Lebanon. Internally, it played a major part in suppressing the 1979–82 Islamist uprising in Syria, and from 2011 to 2024 was heavily engaged in fighting the Syrian Civil War, the most violent and prolonged war the Syrian Arab Army had taken part in since its establishment in the 1940s.
The Syrian Arab Army Command told soldiers and officers they were no longer in service as of 8 December 2024, with the fall of the Assad regime.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Syrian army command informs officers al-Assad's rule has ended |date=7 December 2024 |work=Yahoo News |url=https://www.yahoo.com/news/syrian-army-command-informs-officers-062815727.html }}</ref> A new Syrian Arab Army led by ex-Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham forces is in the process of reconstruction.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://syriacpress.com/blog/2024/12/31/hts-leader-al-shara-confirms-negotiations-with-syrian-democratic-forces-as-syria-steps-toward-a-unified-syrian-army/ | title=HTS leader al-Shara confirms negotiations with Syrian Democratic Forces as Syria steps toward a unified Syrian Army | date=31 December 2024 }}</ref>
== History == === 1919–1945 === [[File:AWM 009747.jpg|200px|thumb|Allied forces escorted by Circassian cavalry of the Troupes spéciales (1941).]]
In 1919, the French formed the ''Troupes spéciales du Levant'' as part of the Army of the Levant in the French Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon. The former with 8,000 men later grew into both the Syrian and Lebanese armies. This force was used primarily as auxiliaries in support of French troops, and senior officer posts were held by Frenchmen, although Syrians were allowed to hold commissions below the rank of major.<ref>Bou-Nacklie, N. E. "Les Troupes Speciales: Religious and Ethnic Recruitment, 1916-46." International Journal of Middle East Studies, vol. 25, no. 4, Cambridge University Press, 1993, pp. 645–60, http://www.jstor.org/stable/164539 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220116072851/https://www.jstor.org/stable/164539 |date=2022-01-16 }}.</ref> The Syrian officer corps of the ''Troupes spéciales du Levant'' mainly consisted of former officers of the Ottoman Army and members of Syria's ethnic and religious minorities.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Perlmutter |first=Amos |title=From Obscurity to Rule: The Syrian Army and the Ba'th Party |journal=The Western Political Quarterly |volume=22 |issue=4 |year=1969 |page=830 |doi=10.2307/447038|jstor=447038 }}</ref> By 1927, more than 35% of Syrian soldiers came from the auxiliary troops; they were traditionally Kurdish, Druze or Circassian. After the repression of the Great Syrian Revolt by General Maurice Gamelin, commander of the Troupes du Levant, they were strengthened and became the main forces of the French apparatus.<ref name=Mizrahi>Jean-David Mizrahi, "Armée, état et nation au moyen-orient. La naissance des troupes spéciales du Levant à l'époque du mandat français, Syrie, 1919-1930", ''Guerres mondiales et conflits contemporains'', 2002/3 (n° 207), p. 107-123. DOI : 10.3917/gmcc.207.0107. URL : https://www.cairn.info/revue-guerres-mondiales-et-conflits-contemporains-2002-3-page-107.htm</ref>
In 1927, the force was augmented by North African infantry (''tirailleurs'') and cavalry (''spahis''), French Foreign Legion, ''Troupes de marine'' infantry and artillery units (both French and Senegalese). The whole force constituted the Army of the Levant.
=== 1945–1970 === In August 1945, the Syrian Army was formed mainly from Army of the Levant. As Syria gained independence in 1946, its leaders envisioned a division-sized army. On June 19, 1947, the Syrian Army took the survivors of Pan Am Flight 121 to the Presbyterian mission hospital at Deir ez-Zor. The 1st Brigade was ready by the time of the Syrian war against Israel on May 15, 1948. It consisted of two infantry battalions and one armored battalion. The 2nd Brigade was organized during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War and also included two infantry battalions and one armored battalion.<ref name="morris251">Morris, Benny (2008), ''1948: A History of the First Arab–Israeli War'', p. 251. Yale University Press. {{ISBN|978-0-300-15112-1}}.</ref>
At the time of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, the army was small, poorly armed, and poorly trained. "Paris had relied primarily on French regulars to keep the peace in Syria and had neglected indigenous forces. Consequently, training was lackadaisical, discipline lax, and staff work almost unheard of. ... there were about 12,000 men in the Syrian army. These troops were mostly grouped into three infantry brigades and an armored force of about battalion size," writes Pollack.{{sfn|Pollack|2002|p=448}}
Between 1949 and 1966, a series of military coups destroyed the stability of the government and any remaining professionalism within the army. In March 1949, the chief of staff, General Husni al-Za'im, installed himself as president. Two more military dictators followed by December 1949. General Adib Shishakli then held power until deposed in the 1954 Syrian coup d'etat. Further coups followed, each attended by a purge of the officer corps to remove supporters of the losers from the force.{{sfn|Pollack|2002|p=457–458}} 'Discipline in the army broke down across the board as units and their commanders pledged their allegiance to different groups and parties. Indeed, by the late 1950s, the situation had become so bad that Syrian officers regularly disobeyed the orders of superiors who belonged to different ethnic or political groups.{{sfn|Pollack|2002|p=458}}
The 1963 Syrian coup d'état had as one of its key objectives the seizure of the Al-Kiswah military camp, home to the 70th Armored Brigade. In June 1963, Syria took part in the Iraqi military campaign against the Kurds by providing aircraft, armoured vehicles and a force of 6,000 soldiers. Syrian troops crossed the Iraqi border and moved into the Kurdish town of Zakho in pursuit of Mustafa Barzani's fighters.<ref name=vanly>{{cite book |first=I. C. |last=Vanly |chapter=The Kurds in Syria and Lebanon |title=The Kurds: A Contemporary Overview |editor-first=P. G. |editor-last=Kreyenbroek |editor2-first=S. |editor2-last=Sperl |publisher=Routledge |year=1992 |isbn=0-415-07265-4 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/kurds00pkre/page/151 151–2] |chapter-url-access=registration |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/kurds00pkre/page/151 }}</ref> There was another coup d'etat in 1966.
However, in 1967 the army did appear to have some strength. It had around 70,000 personnel, roughly 550 tanks and assault guns, 500 APCs, and nearly 300 artillery pieces.{{sfn|Pollack|2002|p=459–460}} The army had sixteen brigades: twelve infantry, two armored (probably including the 70th Armored), and two mechanized. The Syrian government deployed twelve of the sixteen brigades to the Golan, including both armored brigades and one mechanized brigade. Three 'brigade groups', each comprising four brigades, were deployed: the 12th in the north, holding the sector from the B'nat Ya'acov bridge to the slopes of Mount Hermon, the 35th in the south from the B'nat Ya'acov bridge to the Yarmuk River border with Jordan, and the 42nd in reserve, earmarked for a theater-level counterattack role. During the Six-Day War Israeli assault of the Golan heights, the Syrian army failed to counterattack the Israelis as the Israelis breached the Syrian positions. While Syrian units fought hard whenever the Israelis entered their fields of fire, no attempts appear to have been made to exploit Israeli disorientation and confusion during the initial assault.{{sfn|Pollack|2002|p=464}}
Judging from reports of 1967–1970, including the reporting of the 5th Infantry Division in 1970, the Army appears to have formed its first divisions during this period. The 1st and 3rd Armored Division, and 5th, 7th, and 9th Mechanized Infantry Divisions were all formed prior to 1973.<ref name=Batatu1999>{{cite book|author=Hanna Batatu|title=Syria's Peasantry, the Descendants of Its Lesser Rural Notables, and Their Politics|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4_Cvhg3YHIoC&pg=PA228|access-date=27 March 2013|year=1999|publisher=Princeton University Press|isbn=978-0-691-00254-5|page=228|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131231140754/http://books.google.com/books?id=4_Cvhg3YHIoC&pg=PA228|archive-date=31 December 2013|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}}</ref> Samuel M. Katz wrote that after Hafez al-Assad gained power in November 1970, the army expanded to the five divisions listed above, plus ten independent brigades, an artillery rocket brigade (the 69th), and "a reinforced brigade variously termed the 70th Armored Brigade or the Assad Republican Guard. It is today known as the Armored Defense Force; as Assad's praetorian guard it is stationed in and around Damascus and subordinate to the Defense Companies under the command of Assad's brother Rifaat."<ref>Samuel M. Katz, ''Arab Armies of the Middle East Wars'', Osprey Publishing Men-at-Arms 194, 1988, 13.</ref>
=== 1970–2010 === On 18 September 1970, the Syrian government became involved in Black September in Jordan when it sent a reinforced armored brigade to aid the Palestine Liberation Organization.{{sfn|Pollack|2002|p=476–478}} Syrian armored units crossed the border and overran Irbid with the help of local Palestinian forces. They encountered several Jordanian Army detachments, but rebuffed them without major difficulty. Two days later, the 5th Infantry Division, heavily reinforced, was also sent into Jordan. Two armored brigades were attached to the division, bringing its tank strength up to over 300 T-55s and its manpower to over 16,000. The division entered Jordan at ar-Ramtha, destroyed a company of Jordanian Centurion tanks there, and continued directly towards Amman.
Pollack says it is likely that they intended to overthrow the Jordanian monarchy itself. Despite defeating the Jordanian Army at al-Ramtha on 21 September, after fierce air attacks on 22 September, the Syrians stopped the attack and began to retreat. The retreat was caused by Jordan's appeal for international aid. According to the New York Post, the report said that Hussein "not only appealed for the moral and diplomatic support of the United Kingdom and the United States, coupled with the threat of international action, but had also asked for an air strike by Israel against Syrian troops."<ref>British documents, sealed for 30 years, now reveal that Hussein sent "a series of messages" to the British Embassy in Amman</ref> [[File:Syrian team with Milan.jpg|thumb|right|Syrian anti-tank teams deployed French-made MILAN ATGMs during the war in Lebanon in 1982.]]
After 1970 further Syrian engagements included: * October War against Israel<ref>An order of battle of the Syrian Army in October 1973 can be found in Colonel Trevor Dupuy, ''Elusive Victory: The Arab–Israeli Wars 1947–74'', MacDonald and Jane's, London, 1978</ref> * Lebanese Civil War (1975–1990), (against Lebanese militias, the PLO and Israel)
The Syrian armed forces have also been involved in suppressing dissident movements within Syria, for example the Islamist uprising in Syria in 1979–1982. In March 1980 the 3rd Armored Division and detachments from the Defense Companies arrived in Aleppo. The division was under the command of General Shafiq Fayadh, Hafez al-Assad's first cousin. The troops sealed "off whole quarters and carr[ied] out house-to-house searches, often preceded by tank fire."<ref>Patrick Seale, ''Asad: The Struggle for the Middle East'' (London: I.B. Tauris & Co, 1988), p.327, via Holliday 2013, 12.</ref> Hundreds of suspects were rounded up. Only two conventional Army brigades deployed to Hama in 1982, the 3rd Armored Division's 47th Armored and 21st Mechanized Brigades. Three quarters of the officers and one third of the soldiers in the two brigades were Alawites.<ref>Nikolaos van Dam, ''The Struggle for Power in Syria: Politics and Society under Asad and the Ba'th Party'', (New York: I.B. Tauris & Co Ltd, 2011), p.114, via Holliday 2013, 12.</ref> Most of the repression was carried out by the Defense Companies and the Special Forces. Meanwhile, the Special Forces were isolating and combing through Hama, killing and capturing suspected government opponents.<ref>van Dam, 2011, p.104, via Holliday 2013.</ref>
Syrian forces fought Israel during the 1982 Lebanon War.
In 1984, Major General Ali Haidar's Special Forces were instrumental in blocking an abortive attempt by Rifaat al-Assad and his Defense Companies to seize the capital.<ref name=SyrPraetorians>{{cite web|title=Syria's Praetorian Guards: A Primer|url=http://www.meforum.org/meib/articles/0008_s2.htm|work=Middle East Intelligence Bulletin|publisher=Vol. 2 No. 7 (5 August 2000)|access-date=20 May 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120704135413/http://www.meforum.org/meib/articles/0008_s2.htm|archive-date=2012-07-04|url-status=live}}</ref> Fayadh's 3rd Armoured Division moved into the capital to join Haidar's forces in the confrontation with the Defense Companies. The 3rd Armoured Division, it seems, had historically been based at al-Qutayfah, near Damascus.<ref name=matthewaid>{{cite web|url=http://www.matthewaid.com/post/17259349392/is-the-syrian-army-falling-apart|title=Is the Syrian Army Falling Apart?|publisher=matthewaid.com|access-date=2012-03-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140116084954/http://www.matthewaid.com/post/17259349392/is-the-syrian-army-falling-apart|archive-date=2014-01-16|url-status=live}}</ref>
Bennett dates the establishment of corps in the Syrian Army to 1985. Writing forty years later, Tom Cooper says "..despite the establishment of.. corps.. most division commanders continued reporting directly to the President. Correspondingly, not only the Chief of Staff of the Syrian Armed Forces but also the Corps HQ exercised only a limited operational control over the Army's divisions."{{sfn|Cooper|2015|p=13}} Declassified CIA documents from February 1987 say that the 3rd Corps and 17th and 18th Armoured Divisions were established in 1986.<ref>[https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/document/cia-rdp05s02029r000300890001-6 Near East and South Asia Analysis], p27.</ref>
[[File:A Syrian army officer during the Gulf War.JPEG|thumb|A Syrian colonel during the First Gulf War.]] The 9th Armoured Division served in the 1991 Persian Gulf War as the Arab Joint Forces Command North reserve and saw little action.<ref name=NSSyria>Norman Schwarzkopf, ''It Doesn't Take A Hero'', Bantam Books, 1993, 467–69.</ref>
In 1994, Haidar expressed objections to the Syrian president's decision to bring Bashar home from his studies in Britain and groom him for the succession after the death of Basil, the eldest Assad son.<ref name=SyrPraetorians /> Soon afterwards, on 3 September 1994, ''Jane's Defence Weekly'' reported that then-President Hafez al-Assad had dismissed at least 16 senior military commanders. Among them was Haidar, then commander of the Special Forces, and General Shafiq Fayadh, a first cousin of the President who had commanded the "crack" 3rd Armored Division for nearly two decades. The 3rd Armored Division was "deployed around Damascus." JDW commented that "the Special Forces and the 3rd Armored Division, along with the 1st Armored Division are key elements in the security structure that protects Assad's government. Any command changes involving those formations have considerable political significance." Post-uprising reporting indicated the 1st Armored Division had historically been at al-Kiswah.<ref name=matthewaid />
On 29 September 2004, ''Jane's Defence Weekly'' reported that Syria had begun to redeploy elements of one or more Syrian Army special forces regiments based in the coastal hills a few kilometres south of Beirut in Lebanon. A senior Lebanese Army officer told JDW that the 3,000 troops involved would return to Syria.<ref>Nicholas Blandford, "Syria reduced troop strength in Lebanon," ''Jane's Defence Weekly'', 29 September 2004, 31.</ref>
Cordesman wrote that in 2006 the Syrian Army had "organized two corps that reported to the Land Forces General Staff and the Commander of the Land Force."
As of 2010, the army's formations included three army corps (the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd), eight armored divisions (with one independent armored brigade), three mechanized divisions, one armored-special forces division and ten independent airborne-special forces brigades.{{sfn|IISS|2010|p=272–273}} The army had 11 divisional formations reported in 2011, with a fall in the number of armored divisions reported from the 2010 edition from eight to seven.{{sfn|IISS|2011|p=330}} The independent armored brigade had been replaced by an independent tank regiment.
In 2009 and 2010, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London, the Syrian army comprised 220,000 regular personnel, and the entire armed forces (including the navy, air force and Air Defence Force) had 325,000 regular troops.<ref name=IISS2010>International Institute for Strategic Studies, ''The Military Balance 2010'', 272–273.</ref> Additionally, it had about 290,000 reservists.<ref name=IISS2010 /><ref name=google,AFP /><ref name=IOL,5-7-12>{{cite web |url=http://www.iol.co.za/news/world/syria-defections-hurt-army-morale-1.1334774#.Ui_EOsaUT6c |title=Syrian defections hurt army morale |work=Independent Online (South Africa) |access-date=6 January 2014 |date=5 July 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131209202201/http://www.iol.co.za/news/world/syria-defections-hurt-army-morale-1.1334774#.Ui_EOsaUT6c |archive-date=2013-12-09 |url-status=live }}</ref>
=== Syrian Civil War === ==== Military equipment in mid-2010 (including storage) ==== {{Main|List of equipment of the Syrian Army}}
The vast majority of Syrian military equipment was Soviet manufactured.<ref >International Institute for Strategic Studies, Military Balance, 2010, page 272</ref> * '''≈ 9,300 armoured fighting vehicles''' (including in storage): ** ≈ 4,950 main battle tanks ** ≈ 3,950 infantry fighting vehicles and armored personnel carriers * '''≈ 2,030 towed artillery pieces''': ** 1,900 guns/howitzers ** up to 500 multiple rocket launchers * '''≈ 500+ self-propelled artillery pieces''' (122mm and 152mm) * '''2,600 anti-tank guided weapon launchers''' * ≈ 4,184 MANPADS * 1,225+ anti-aircraft guns * 94+ tactical surface-to-surface missile launchers
==== Defections ==== At October 1, 2011, according to high-ranking defected Syrian Colonel Riad Assaad, 10,000 soldiers, including high-ranking officers, had deserted the Syrian Army.<ref>{{cite news|title=Over 10,000 soldiers have deserted Syria army, says high-ranking defector|url=https://www.haaretz.com/news/middle-east/over-10-000-soldiers-have-deserted-syria-army-says-high-ranking-defector-1.387494|work=Haaretz|date=1 October 2011|access-date=6 January 2014|agency=Reuters and Deutsche Presse-Agentur|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131116060502/http://www.haaretz.com/news/middle-east/over-10-000-soldiers-have-deserted-syria-army-says-high-ranking-defector-1.387494|archive-date=2013-11-16|url-status=dead}}</ref> Some of these defectors had formed the Free Syrian Army, engaging in guerilla-style attacks and combat with security forces and soldiers in what would turn into the Syrian Civil War.
At 16 November 2011, Rami Abdel Rahman, the head of the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, however estimated that less than 1,000 soldiers had deserted the Syrian Army; at the same moment, an FSA battalion commander claimed that the FSA embraced 25,000 army deserters.<ref>{{cite news|last=Atassi|first=Basma|title=Free Syrian Army grows in influence|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2011/11/20111116154829885782.html|publisher=Al Jazeera|date=16 November 2011|access-date=6 January 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140117055138/http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2011/11/20111116154829885782.html|archive-date=2014-01-17|url-status=live}}</ref> Also in November 2011, the Free Syrian Army or the website of France 24 estimated the Syrian Army at 200,000 troops.<ref>{{cite news|title=Free Syrian Army soldier: "We lack weapons"|url=http://observers.france24.com/content/20111118-free-syrian-army-soldier-lack-weapons-homs-army-defectors-bashar-al-assad-syrian-national-council|publisher=France 24|date=18 November 2011|access-date=7 January 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131020001421/http://observers.france24.com/content/20111118-free-syrian-army-soldier-lack-weapons-homs-army-defectors-bashar-al-assad-syrian-national-council|archive-date=2013-10-20|url-status=live}}</ref> According to General Mustafa al-Sheikh, one of the most senior defectors, however, in January 2012 the Syrian forces were estimated at 280,000 including conscripts.<ref>{{cite news|title=Syria's army weakened by growing desertions|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-syria-defections-idUSTRE80C2IV20120113|publisher=Reuters|date=1 January 2012|access-date=2017-07-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151001210410/http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/13/us-syria-defections-idUSTRE80C2IV20120113|archive-date=2015-10-01|url-status=live}}</ref>
By March 15, 2012, many more soldiers, unhappy with crackdowns on pro-democracy protesters, switched sides and a Turkish official said that 60,000 soldiers had deserted the Syrian army, including 20,000 since February 20. It was added that most of the deserters were junior officers and soldiers.<ref>{{cite news|last2=Abu-Nasr|first2=Donna|last1=Emre|first1=Peker|title=Syrian Armed Forces Desertion Said to Surge to 60,000|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-03-15/syria-loses-20-000-troops-as-deserters-flee-turkey-says-1-.html|publisher=Bloomberg|date=15 March 2012|access-date=7 January 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921055615/http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-03-15/syria-loses-20-000-troops-as-deserters-flee-turkey-says-1-.html|archive-date=2013-09-21|url-status=live}}</ref> By 5 July 2012, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights estimated "tens of thousands" of soldiers to have defected.<ref name=IOL,5-7-12 /> By August 2012, 40 brigadier generals from the Army had defected to the opposition army, out of a total of 1,200 generals.<ref>{{cite news|title=Chief of protocol at the Syrian presidential palace denies defection|url=http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/08/09/231222.html|publisher=Al Arabiya|date=9 August 2012|access-date=2012-08-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120809084650/http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/08/09/231222.html|archive-date=9 August 2012|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref>
On June 14, 2013, 73 Syrian Army officers and their families, some 202 people in total, sought refuge in Turkey. Amongst their number were seven generals and 20 colonels.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.haaretz.com/news/middle-east/dozens-of-syrian-officers-defect-to-turkey-as-russia-warns-against-arming-rebels-1.529896|title=Dozens of Syrian officers defect to Turkey as Russia warns against arming rebels|date=14 June 2013|work=Haaretz|access-date=2013-06-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130615162150/http://www.haaretz.com/news/middle-east/dozens-of-syrian-officers-defect-to-turkey-as-russia-warns-against-arming-rebels-1.529896|archive-date=2013-06-15|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2013, Agence France Press wrote on 'Syria's diminished security forces.'<ref name=google,AFP>{{cite news|title=Syria's diminished security forces|url=http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/Aug-28/228953-syrias-diminished-security-forces.ashx#axzz31ko8ddGF|agency=Agence France-Presse|date=27 August 2013|access-date=14 May 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714160112/http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/Aug-28/228953-syrias-diminished-security-forces.ashx#axzz31ko8ddGF|archive-date=2014-07-14|url-status=live}}</ref>
==== Strength impaired ==== Up until July 2012, the scale of defections from the Syrian Army, though hard to quantify, was too small to make an impact on the strength of that army, according to Aram Nerguizian from the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies.<ref name=IOL,5-7-12 /> Strategically important units of the Syrian armed forces are always controlled by Alawite officers; defecting soldiers – by July 2012 "tens of thousands" according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights – are mainly Sunni without access to vital command and control, Nerguizian said,<ref name=IOL,5-7-12 /> however the formed Syrian Minister of Defence General Dawoud Rajiha killed in the 18 July 2012 Damascus bombing was a Christian. {{quote box|The army in Syria is the power structure. The armed forces would fight to an end. It would be a bloodbath, literally, because the army would fight to protect not only the institution of the army but the regime itself, because the army and the regime is one and the same. | source = — Fawaz Gerges, Lebanese-American author<ref>{{Cite news |last=Wikstrom |first=Cajsa |date=9 February 2011 |title=Syria: 'A kingdom of silence' |work=Al Jazeera |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2011/2/9/syria-a-kingdom-of-silence |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230529164126/https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2011/2/9/syria-a-kingdom-of-silence |archive-date=29 May 2023}}</ref> | align = right | width = 25em }} Analyst Joseph Holliday wrote in 2013 that "the Assad government has from the beginning of the conflict been unable to mobilize all of its forces without risking large-scale defections. The single greatest liability that the Assad regime has faced in employing its forces has been the challenge of relying on units to carry out orders to brutalize the opposition."<ref>Holliday, 2013, 11, 12.</ref> This has resulted in Bashar following his father's precedent by attaching regular army units to more reliable forces (Special Forces, Republican Guard, or 4th Armored Division). When Hafez al-Assad directed the suppression of revolts in Hama in 1982, this technique was also used.<ref name="Lister Brookings"/>
[[File:Breaking siege of Nubl and Al-Zahraa (7).jpg|thumb|Syrian Army soldiers during the siege of Nubl and al-Zahraa]] In 2014, analyst Charles Lister wrote that "As of April 1, 2014, the SAA had incurred at least 35,601 fatalities, which when combined with a reasonable ratio of 3 wounded personnel for every soldier killed and approximately 50,000 defections, suggests the SAA presently commands roughly 125,000 personnel. This loss of manpower is exacerbated by Syria's long entrenched problem of having to selectively deploy forces based on their perceived trustworthiness."<ref name="Lister Brookings">{{cite web |last1=Lister |first1=Charles |title=DYNAMIC STALEMATE: SURVEYING SYRIA'S MILITARY LANDSCAPE |url=https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/syria-military-landscape-english.pdf |publisher=Brookings Doha Center |date=May 2014}}</ref> The International Institute for Strategic Studies in London calculated that by August 2013 the strength of the Syrian army had, compared with 2010, roughly been cut in half, due to defections, desertions and casualties: it now counted 110,000 troops.<ref name=google,AFP />
Prior to its collapse, the Syrian Arab Army suffered from serious recruitment issues as the Syrian Civil War dragged on, with military age men across sectarian lines no longer willing to join or serve their conscription terms. These issues were especially notable among the Druze population, who have clashed with regime security forces and broken Druze youths out of regime imprisonment to avoid them serving in the army.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://syriadirect.org/main/36-interviews/1946-defected-general-druze-do-not-represent-a-cog-in-the-regime-machine |title=DEFECTED GENERAL: 'DRUZE DO NOT REPRESENT A COG IN THE REGIME MACHINE' |publisher=Syria Direct |date=30 March 2015 |access-date=7 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402120510/http://syriadirect.org/main/36-interviews/1946-defected-general-druze-do-not-represent-a-cog-in-the-regime-machine |archive-date=2015-04-02 |url-status=live }}</ref> Increasingly, Assad's Alawite base of support refuse to send their sons to the military due to massive casualty rates among military age men in their community; according to pro oppositions sources a third of 250,000 Alawite men of fighting age have been killed in the Syrian Civil War, leading to major tensions between the sect and the Syrian government.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/11518232/In-Syrias-war-Alawites-pay-heavy-price-for-loyalty-to-Bashar-al-Assad.html |title=In Syria's war, Alawites pay heavy price for loyalty to Bashar al-Assad |work=The Daily Telegraph |last=Sherlock |first=Ruth |date=7 April 2015 |access-date=7 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150407102223/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/11518232/In-Syrias-war-Alawites-pay-heavy-price-for-loyalty-to-Bashar-al-Assad.html |archive-date=2015-04-07 |url-status=live }}</ref>
As of mid-2018, then-Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman said that the Syrian Arab Army had regained its pre-2011 strength levels, recovering from manpower shortages earlier in the Syrian Civil War.<ref name="Reuters8Aug18">{{cite news |title=Israel sees Syrian army growing beyond pre-civil war size |url=http://www.defenceweb.co.za/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=52694&catid=74&Itemid=30 |access-date=10 January 2019 |work=DefenceWeb |agency=Reuters |date=8 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190111121418/http://www.defenceweb.co.za/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=52694&catid=74&Itemid=30 |archive-date=11 January 2019 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all }}</ref>
==== Roles of 3rd, 11th, 17th and 18th Divisions ==== [[File:Liberation of Palmyra by RSII coalition (4).jpg|thumb|Syrian Army soldiers after the 2016 Palmyra offensive.]] The 3rd Armored Division had deployed elements of three brigades from its bases around Qutayfah to Deraa, Zabadani, and Hama, while the 11th Armored Division had stayed close to its bases in Homs and Hama.<ref>Holliday 2013, 26, citing "By All Means Necessary: Individual and Command Responsibility for Crimes against Humanity in Syria," Human Rights Watch, December 2011, p. 36; [https://www.facebook.com/syriahroe Syrian Observatory for Human Rights Facebook page] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140313020443/https://www.facebook.com/syriahroe |date=2014-03-13 }}, January 24, 2012; [https://www.facebook.com/monasiqoon Syrian Revolution Coordinator's Union Facebook page] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120718200146/https://www.facebook.com/monasiqoon |date=2012-07-18 }}, February 7, 2012; [http://www.lccsyria.org/en/ Local Coordination Committees website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130410100250/http://www.lccsyria.org/en/ |date=2013-04-10 }}, November 15, 2012.</ref>
The European Council named Major General Wajih Mahmud as commander of the 18th Armored Division in the ''Official Journal of the European Union'' on 15 November 2011, sanctioning him for violence committed in Homs.<ref>{{cite web|title=Council Implementing Regulation (EU) No 1151/2011 of 14 November 2011 implementing Regulation (EU) No 442/2011 concerning restrictive measures in view of the situation in Syria|url=http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2011:296:0003:0005:EN:PDF|work=Official Journal of the European Union|date=15 November 2011|format=PDF|access-date=2012-10-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130522232716/http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2011:296:0003:0005:EN:PDF|archive-date=2013-05-22|url-status=live}}</ref> Henry Boyd of the IISS noted that "in Homs, the 18th Armored Division was reinforced by Special Forces units and ... by elements of the 4th Division under Maher's de facto command."<ref>{{cite web|last=Boyd|first=Henry|title=Shades of Hama and Grozny in Homs and Idlib|url=http://www.iiss.org/whats-new/iiss-experts-commentary/shades-of-hama-and-grozny-in-homs-and-idlib/|publisher=International Institute for Strategic Studies|date=12 March 2012|access-date=2012-08-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120627152103/http://www.iiss.org/whats-new/iiss-experts-commentary/shades-of-hama-and-grozny-in-homs-and-idlib/|archive-date=2012-06-27|url-status=live}}</ref>
Information from Holliday 2013 suggests that the reserve armored division is the 17th (rather than any other designation), which was responsible for eastern Syria.<ref>Holliday, 2013, 42, 46, 47. Holliday's sources include "Skype Interview with exiled former Syrian Army General Officer in Washington, DC on April 19, 2012."</ref> The division's 93rd Brigade left Idlib to secure Raqqa Governorate in early 2012.<ref>Holliday, 2013, 33, citing "Clashes between Syrian troops and army defectors kill at least 13," ''Washington Post'', October 13, 2011; Syrian Revolution Coordinator's Union Facebook Page <facebook.com/monasiqoon>, November 13, 2012.</ref> Following the reported capture of Raqqa on 3–6 March 2013, elements of the 17th Division remained under siege to the north of the city in October 2013.<ref>Alice Martins, [http://beta.syriadeeply.org/2013/10/watching-rebels-fight-city-raqqa/#.Um3LklNVXSc Watching Rebels Fight Among Themselves for the City of Raqqa] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029204048/http://beta.syriadeeply.org/2013/10/watching-rebels-fight-city-raqqa/#.Um3LklNVXSc |date=2013-10-29 }}, SyriaDeeply.org Beta, October 2, 2013.</ref>
=== Relationship with National Defence Force === The National Defence Force was under the control and supervision of the Syrian Army<ref>news24.com</ref> and acted in an infantry role, directly fighting against rebels on the ground and running counter-insurgency operations in co-ordination with the army which provided them logistical and artillery support.
Struggling with reliability issues and defections, officers of the SAA increasingly preferred the part-time volunteers of the NDF, who they regarded as more motivated and loyal, over regular army conscripts to conduct infantry operations and act as support for advancing tanks.<ref>{{cite AV media|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZI_88ChjQtU|title=Iran's Secret Army|date=22 November 2013|publisher=YouTube|access-date=2015-10-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160102205927/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZI_88ChjQtU|archive-date=2016-01-02|url-status=live}}</ref>
An officer in Homs, who asked not to be identified, said the army was increasingly playing a logistical and directive role, while NDF fighters act as combatants on the ground.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-syria-crisis-paramilitary-insight-idUSBRE93K02R20130421|title=Insight: Battered by war, Syrian army creates its own replacement|publisher=Reuters|date=21 April 2013|access-date=2017-07-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130601144630/http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/21/us-syria-crisis-paramilitary-insight-idUSBRE93K02R20130421|archive-date=2013-06-01|url-status=live}}</ref>
The NDF continued to play a significant role in military operations across Syria despite the formation of other elite units, many of which received direct assistance from Russia.
===Post-Assad Syria=== {{Main|Fall of the Assad regime|Syrian transitional government}}
In December 2024, the Syrian Arab Army, alongside the Syrian Arab Republic itself, collapsed as the Assad regime fell. Some of the remaining Assad regime forces crossed into Iraq, others removed their uniforms before the rebels could arrive in Damascus, the last remaining territory controlled by the SAR.{{cn|date=March 2026}}<ref>{{cite web |title=Demoralized and abandoned by allies: Why Syria’s army didn’t fight for Assad |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/demoralized-and-abandoned-by-allies-why-syrias-army-didnt-fight-for-assad/ |website=The Times of Israel |access-date=11 March 2026 |date=12 December 2024}}</ref> Retired U.S. General Wesley Clark said that a video showing Assad's forces evacuating to Iraq showed the "demoralization and collapse of an army", and that the forces knew they would lose, with the rebels taking Damascus and Assad's whereabouts unknown. He compared it to the fall of Kabul in 2021, where the U.S.-backed Afghan Armed Forces collapsed, and that when faced with certain defeat, armies simply "melt away".<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2024/12/07/world/video/syria-pro-assad-forces-cross-to-iraq-nr-digvid |title=Video purportedly shows pro-Assad military fleeing into Iraq |date=8 December 2024 |language=en |access-date=9 December 2024 |website=CNN}}</ref>
At first, the leaders of the different Syrian rebel forces announced on 21 December 2024 that it would disband their forces and merge them under the defence ministry.<ref>{{cite news |publisher=Straits Times |title=Syrian ex-rebel factions agree to merge under defence ministry |url=https://www.straitstimes.com/world/middle-east/syrian-ex-rebel-factions-agree-to-merge-under-defence-ministry |date=24 December 2024}}</ref> A number of reconcillation centres opened all across the country as several soldiers that previously served under the Assad regime turned over their weapons to the state in exchange for new civilian identity cards to disassociate themselves from the old regime.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2n35j5340o | title=Post-Assad Syria: Former soldiers give up their weapons for papers | date=29 December 2024 }}</ref>
{{As of|2024|12|11}}, leaders of the Syrian Democratic Forces, the military forces of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, were preparing for "negotiations that would create a broader-based Syrian government that is not under al-Sharaa's control". Leaders of the Southern Operations Room met with al-Sharaa on 11 December and expressed interest in "coordination", a "unified effort" and "cooperation", without stating that they would support the HTS transitional government.<ref name="ISW_IR_update_11Dec2024">{{cite Q|Q131451072|url-status=live}}</ref>
On 17 December 2024, Prime Minister Mohammed Al-Bashir has said the defense ministry would be restructured using former rebel factions and officers who defected from Assad's army.<ref name="arabnews20241217">{{Cite web|url=https://www.arabnews.com/node/2583377/middle-east|title=France returns flag to Damascus embassy as new Syria authorities build contacts with West|date=17 December 2024|website=Arab News}}</ref> Murhaf Abu Qasra (''nom de guerre''; Abu Hassan al-Hamawi),<ref name="france24-20241217">{{Cite web |date=17 December 2024 |title=Syria ex-rebel military chief says to dissolve armed wing |url=https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20241217-syria-ex-rebel-military-chief-says-to-dissolve-armed-wing |access-date=21 December 2024 |website=France 24 |language=en}}</ref> the military commander of Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham said to ''The Economist'', "All military units will naturally transition to the ministry of defence, forming a unified army tasked with protecting the nation on behalf of all Syrians." ''The Economist'' added that Qasra insisted "..that there will be no place in the new Syria for jihadists eager to launch attacks".<ref>{{Cite news |title=An interview with the military commander of Syria's new masters |url=https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2024/12/13/an-interview-with-the-military-commander-of-syrias-new-masters |access-date=21 December 2024 |newspaper=The Economist |issn=0013-0613}}</ref> Abu Qasra, speaking with ''AFP'', said that HTS would be "among the first to take the initiative" to dissolve its armed wing for a national army;<ref name="france24-20241217" /> on 21 December it was reported that Abu Qasra was appointed transitional Minister of Defense.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Syrian authorities appoint HTS figures as foreign, defence ministers |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/12/21/syrias-new-rulers-appoint-hts-figures-as-foreign-defence-ministers |access-date=25 December 2024 |website=Al Jazeera English|language=en}}</ref>
On 22 December 2024, Ahmed al-Sharaa said that the new Syrian government would announce the new structure of the Syrian military within days.<ref>{{cite news |title=Syrian leader says he will announce defence, military structure soon |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/syrian-leader-says-he-will-announce-defence-military-structure-soon-2024-12-22/ |work=Reuters |date=22 December 2024}}</ref> Two days later, the transitional government announced that a meeting between opposition groups and Ahmed al-Sharaa "ended in an agreement on the dissolution of all the groups and their integration under the supervision of the ministry of defence".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Syria says ex-rebel groups agree to integrate under Defence Ministry |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/12/24/syria-says-ex-rebel-groups-agree-to-integrate-under-defence-ministry |access-date=25 December 2024 |website=Al Jazeera English |language=en}}</ref>{{sfn|Straits Times|2024}}
On 26 December 2024, the "former forces of deposed leader Bashar al-Assad" killed 14 HTS fighters in the process of the new government capturing Mohammad Kanjo Hassan. General Hassan, the former chief of military justice and head of the field court, had been closely associated with the Sednaya Prison, where detainees had been often been brutally tortured. This has led to the Western Syria clashes against the Syrian transitional government.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.cnn.com/2024/12/26/middleeast/security-personnel-deaths-syria-intl-hnk/index.html | title=At least 14 security personnel killed in 'ambush' by former Assad forces, new Syrian authorities say | website=CNN | date=26 December 2024}}</ref>
On 29 December 2024, Ahmed al-Sharaa announced the promotion of 42 individuals to the rank of Colonel, 5 to the rank of Brigadier General, and 2 to the rank of Major-General in the Syrian Army. This number included Defense Minister Abu Qasra and new Chief of the General Staff of the Syrian Armed Forces and Army Ali Noureddine Al-Naasan, who were both elevated to the rank of Major-General.<ref>{{Cite web |title=بينهم وزير الدفاع.. القيادة العامة تعلن عن ترقيات جديدة في الجيش السوري |url=https://shaam.org/news/syria-news/بينهم-وزير-الدفاع-القيادة-العامة-تعلن-عن-ترقيات-جديدة-في-الجيش-السوري |access-date=29 December 2024 |website=شبكة شام |language=ar}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=29 December 2024 |title=الشرع يصدر أول قائمة ترفيعات في الجيش.. ضمت أسماء غير سورية |url=https://arabi21.com/story/1650927/الشرع-يصدر-أول-قائمة-ترفيعات-في-الجيش-ضمت-أسماء-غير-سورية |access-date=29 December 2024 |website=عربي21 |language=ar}}</ref> In January 2025 the defense ministry said that it has met with over 60 armed groups and claimed that all of the armed groups agreed to be a part of the armed forces and reorganized into units.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Institute for the Study of War |url=https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/iran-update-january-19-2025 |access-date=20 January 2025 |website=Institute for the Study of War |date=20 January 2025 |language=en}}</ref> but they reject the SDF proposal of creating a Kurdish "bloc" within the armed forces.<ref>{{Cite web |date=19 January 2025 |title=Syrian defence minister rejects Kurdish proposal for its own military bloc |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/syrian-defence-minister-rejects-kurdish-proposal-its-own-military-bloc-2025-01-19/ |website=Reuters}}</ref> Later in February the SDF, the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, and the Syrian Democratic Council decided in a meeting that the SDF would merge with the Syrian army.<ref>{{Cite web |date=18 February 2025 |title=SDF says it will be joining the Syrian army |url=https://www.voanews.com/a/voa-kurdish-sdf-says-it-will-be-joining-the-syrian-army/7980107.html |access-date=22 February 2025 |website=Voice of America |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=18 February 2025 |title=The View from Damascus – SDF Seeks Integration into Syrian Army as Talks with Damascus Gain Momentum |work=The Syrian Observer |url=https://syrianobserver.com/syrian-actors/the-view-from-damascus-sdf-seeks-integration-into-syrian-army-as-talks-with-damascus-gain-momentum.html |access-date=22 February 2025 |language=en-US}}</ref>
On 8 March 2025, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that Syrian security forces and pro-government fighters had been involved in the mass killings of more than 750 Alawite civilians amidst clashes with supposed remaining pro-Assad groups in the western Governorates of Syria.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://news.sky.com/story/they-left-nobody-more-than-600-people-killed-in-some-of-syrias-deadliest-violence-13324440|title='They left nobody': More than 1,000 people killed in some of Syria's deadliest violence|website=Sky News}}</ref>
By June 2025, the Syrian transitional government had recruited half of its planned 200,000-man army by uniting various Syrian factions led by Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, including 30,000 members of the Syrian National Army and 15,000 members of the Syrian Democratic Forces, as well as foreign fighters. Two-thirds of the senior commanders are HTS members.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Oweis |first=Khaled Yacoub |title=Syria has recruited half of planned 200,000-strong army, military sources say |url=https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/2025/06/03/hts-brings-in-100000-men-into-new-syrian-army/ |access-date=2025-07-08 |website=The National |language=en}}</ref> ''Reuters'' reported that the US gave the nod to Syria to integrate foreign fighters into its army.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Azhari |first1=Timour |last2=Al-Khalidi |first2=Suleiman |date=2 June 2025 |title=Exclusive: US gives nod to Syria to bring foreign jihadist ex-rebels into army |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/us-gives-nod-syria-bring-foreign-jihadist-ex-rebels-into-army-2025-06-02/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20250602143633/https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/us-gives-nod-syria-bring-foreign-jihadist-ex-rebels-into-army-2025-06-02/ |archive-date=2 June 2025 |access-date=3 August 2025 |website=Reuters |url-access=registration }}</ref>
In October 2025, SDF officials confirmed on October 14 and 15 that the SDF will integrate into the Syrian army in three divisions and several independent brigades, SDF negotiation committee member and Syriac Union Party co-chair Sanrib Barsoum stated that several SDF counterterrorism brigades will be deployed across the country as needed, The commander of the SDF-affiliated Northern Democratic Brigade told Kurdish media on October 14 that the SDF's Women's Protection Units will form a brigade in the Syrian army.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sleiman |first=Nadia |date=2025-10-16 |title=Iran Update, October 16, 2025 |url=https://understandingwar.org/research/middle-east/iran-update-october-16-2025/ |access-date=2025-10-17 |website=Institute for the Study of War |language=en-US}}</ref>
== Demographics == In 2011, the majority of the Syrian military were Sunni, but most of the military leadership were Alawites.<ref name="Reuters2011"/> Alawites made up 12% of the pre-war Syrian population, but 70% of the career soldiers in the Syrian Army.<ref name=State>{{cite web|title=Background Note: Syria|url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3580.htm|publisher=US State Department|access-date=14 September 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170121022641/https://2009-2017.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3580.htm|archive-date=21 January 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> A similar imbalance is seen in the officer corps, where some 80% of the officers are Alawites. The military's most elite divisions, the Republican Guard and the 4th Armored Division, which are commanded by Bashar al-Assad's brother Maher, are exclusively Alawite. Most of Syria's 300,000 conscripts in 2011 were Sunni.<ref name="Reuters2011">{{cite news|title=Syria's military: what does Assad have?|url=https://af.reuters.com/article/libyaNews/idAFLDE72S19O20110406|work=Reuters|access-date=5 May 2011|date=6 April 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110501081522/http://af.reuters.com/article/libyaNews/idAFLDE72S19O20110406|archive-date=1 May 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref>
In mid-2022, the Minister of Defence and also Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Army and the Armed Forces Lieutenant General Ali Mahmoud Abbas, and Major General Mufid Hassan, Deputy Chief of the General Staff, were some of the Sunni Muslims in the positions of power.<ref name="cfr1">{{Cite web |last=Lund |first=Aron |date=2022-05-23 |title=Can Assad's New Military Appointments Help Rebuild His Regime? |url=https://tcf.org/content/report/can-assads-new-military-appointments-help-rebuild-his-regime/ |access-date=2023-04-07 |website=The Century Foundation |language=en}}</ref> Some volunteer brigades, such as Arab Nationalist Guard, are made up of Sunni Syrians and other Sunnis from the Middle Eastern region that adhere to pan-Arab ideals.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/03/syria-aleppo-sunni-quds-baath-brigades.html|title=Pro-regime Sunni fighters in Aleppo defy sectarian narrative - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East|work=Al-Monitor|date=14 March 2014}}</ref>
For many years compulsory and voluntary military service began at 18 years of age. Under the Assads, the conscript service obligation was 18 months, for many years; women were not conscripted but could volunteer to serve; and the re-enlistment obligation was 5 years, with retirement after 15 years or age 40 (enlisted) or 20 years or age 45.<ref name="CIA World Factbook">{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/syria/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210109103654/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/syria|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 9, 2021|title=The World Factbook|work=cia.gov|access-date=2013-06-15}}</ref><ref name="ReferenceA">{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2024.html |title=CIA World Factbook |publisher=CIA |access-date=2013-06-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160322125136/https://www.cia.gov/library//publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2024.html |archive-date=2016-03-22 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
== Structure == === 2001 order of battle === [[File:Syrian soldier with a machine gun.JPEG|thumb|A Syrian soldier aims a 7.62mm PKM light machine gun from his position in a foxhole during a firepower demonstration, part of Operation Desert Shield. The soldier is wearing a ShMS gas-mask.]] Before 2011, it was difficult to access reliable information about the SAA because of the Damascus government's sensitivity to potential espionage, particularly by Israel.<ref>{{cite book|title=Syrian army prepares for post-conflict challenges|last=Ripley|first=Tim|publisher=Janes´s|year=2017|page=4}}</ref>
Richard Bennett wrote in 2001 that "..corps [were] formed in 1985 to give the Army more flexibility and to improve combat efficiency by decentralizing the command structure, absorbing at least some of the lessons learned during the Israeli invasion of the Lebanon in 1982."<ref>Richard M. Bennett, [http://www.meforum.org/meib/articles/0108_s1.htm The Syrian Military: A Primer] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120629091613/http://www.meforum.org/meib/articles/0108_s1.htm |date=2012-06-29 }}, Middle East Intelligence Bulletin, August/September 2001.</ref> The organization and military doctrine of the army followed the Soviet model.{{sfn|Sinai|1987}}
Richard Bennett's estimate of the 2001 order of battle was: * '''1st Corps''' HQ Damascus, which covered from Golan Heights, the fortified zone and south to Der'a near the Jordanian border. ** 5th Armored Division, which included the 17th and 96th Armored Brigades and the 112th Mechanized Brigade ** 6th Armored Division, with the 12th and 98th Armored Brigades and the 11th Mechanized Brigades ** 7th Mechanized Division, with the 58th and 68th Armored Brigades and the 78th Mechanized Brigade ** 8th Armored Division, which included the 62nd and 65th Armored Brigades and the 32nd Mechanized Brigade ** 9th Armored Division, with the 43rd and 91st Armored Brigades and the 52nd Mechanized Brigade. Bennett said the 1st Corps also [had] four independent special forces regiments, including two trained for heliborne commando operations against the Israeli signals intelligence & observation posts on Mount Hermon and elsewhere in the Golan Heights. * '''2nd Corps''' HQ Zabadani, covers north of Damascus, to Homs and includes Lebanon. ** Bennett said in 2001 that the corps' principal units were believed to include: ** 1st Armored Division, with the 44th and 46th Armored Brigades and the 42nd Mechanized Brigade ** 3rd Armored Division, with the 47th and 82nd Armored Brigades and the 132nd Mechanized Brigade ** 11th Armored Division, with the 60th and 67th Armored Brigades and the 87th Mechanized Brigade ** 4th Mechanized Division with the 1st Armored Brigade and the 61st and 89th Mechanized Brigades ** 10th Mechanized Division, headquartered in Shtoura, Lebanon. Its main units [were in 2001] deployed to control the strategic Beirut-Damascus highway with the 123rd Mechanized Brigade near Yanta, the 51st Armored Brigade near Zahle in the Beqaa Valley and the 85th Armored Brigade, deployed around the complex of positions at Dahr al-Baidar. ** three other heavy brigades from the 3rd and 11th Armored Divisions [were] known to be regularly deployed to eastern Lebanon. ** there [were] five special forces regiments in the Lebanon. * '''3rd Corps''' HQ Aleppo, based in the north and covered Hama, the Turkish and Iraqi borders, the Mediterranean coastline and was tasked with protecting the complex of chemical and biological warfare and missile production and launch facilities. ** The 2nd Reserve Armored Division, with the 14th and 15th Armored Brigades and the 19th Mechanized Brigade. The 2nd [was] also believed to operate as the main armored forces training formation. It seems likely that the "2nd" designation, reported in 2001, was incorrect, as it has not been reported during the Syrian Civil War. ** Other units under the control of this corps included four independent infantry brigades, one border guard brigade, one independent armored regiment, effectively a brigade group, and one special forces regiment. ** the Coastal Defence Brigade, which [operated] largely as an independent unit within the 3rd Corps area, [was] headquartered in the naval base of Latakia with four Coastal Defence Battalions in Latakia, Banias, Hamidieh and Tartus. Each Battalion has four batteries of both the short range SSC-3 Styx and long range SSC-1B Sepal missile systems.
The IISS listed smaller formations in 2006 as:<ref>International Institute for Strategic Studies, The Military Balance 2006, p.208-9</ref> * Four independent Infantry Brigades * Ten independent Airborne Special Forces Regiments (Seven regiments attached to 2nd Corps) * Two independent Artillery Brigades * Two independent Anti-tank Brigades * Surface-to-surface Missile Command with three SSM Brigades (each with three SSM battalions), ** One brigade with FROG-7, ** One brigade with Scud-B/C/D. ** One brigade with SS-21 Scarab, * Three coastal defence missile brigades ** One brigade with 4 SS-C-1B Sepal launchers, ** One brigade with 6 P-15 Termit launchers, alternative designation SS-C-3 'Styx' ** One brigade with 6+ P-800 Oniks launchers, * One Border Guard Brigade
Protecting Damascus: * 4th Mechanized Division (The Defense companies were transformed into Unit 569, equivalent to an armored division, which in 1984 became the 4th Armoured Division.)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://gradworks.umi.com/3330856.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2012-04-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120308142330/http://gradworks.umi.com/3330856.pdf |archive-date=2012-03-08 |url-status=live }}</ref> * The Republican Guard Armored Division, with three Armored brigades, one Mechanized brigade, and one artillery regiment.
====Basic structure until 2011==== Joseph Holliday of the Institute for the Study of War described the basic structure of the Syrian Arab Army as:<ref>{{cite web |title=The Syrian Army Doctrinal Order of Battle |url=http://www.understandingwar.org/sites/default/files/SyrianArmy-DocOOB.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131101161447/http://www.understandingwar.org/sites/default/files/SyrianArmy-DocOOB.pdf |archive-date=2013-11-01 |access-date=2013-12-30}}</ref> * 3 Corps (''Falaq''): 50,000 men in 3–4 divisions each * 14 Divisions (''Firqa''): 5,000–15,000 men in 5–6 brigades/regiments each * More than 40 Brigades (''Liwa''): 2,500–3,500 men in 5–6 battalions (1–3 armored/mechanized + artillery/ADA/engineers) each ** ''Mechanized'': *** 105 IFVs in 3 mechanized battalions *** 41 Tanks in 1 armored battalion *** 3,500 soldiers ** ''Armored'': *** 105 Tanks in 3 armored battalions *** 31 IFVs in 1 mechanized battalion *** 2,500 soldiers * More than 20 Regiments (''Fawj''): 1,500 men ** Light Infantry: 1,500 soldiers in 3 infantry battalions ** Artillery: 45 howitzers and 1,500 soldiers in 3 artillery battalions * Battalion (''Katiba''): 300–500 men in 4–5 companies * Company (''Sariya''): 60–80 men
=== 2022 order of battle === Between 2015 and 2018, the Syrian Arab Army underwent many structural changes, with the cooperation of Russia and Iran.<ref name="isr1">{{Cite web|url=https://www.inss.org.il/publication/syrian-army-2023/|title=Rebuilding the Syrian Military: The Threat to Israel|publisher=INSS Tel Aviv University |date=6 September 2023|access-date=25 November 2023 |first1=Eden|last1=Kaduri|first2=Yehoshua|last2=Kalisky|first3=Tal|last3=Avraham}}</ref>
Syrian army "Special Forces" were specialized "light" infantry (airborne, air assault) and were "elite" only in relation to Assad's conventional mechanized and armoured units. Special Forces regiments were created to conduct counter-insurgency operations.<ref>{{cite web |title=Syria's Elite Military Units: Keys to Stability and Succession |url=https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP06T00412R000606620001-0.pdf |publisher=Central Intelligence Agency |date=1987-11-01 |access-date=1 July 2022}}</ref> Special Forces units included the: 41st, 45th, 46th, 47th, 53rd and 54th independent special forces regiments.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Harris |first=William |title=Quicksilver War: Syria, Iraq and the Spiral of Conflict |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2018 |isbn=9780190874872 |location=New York|page=183 |chapter=Glossary}}</ref> Special Forces were heavily used from the early stage of the Syrian Civil War and as a result suffered heavy casualties, possibly up to three regiments (41st, 46th, 54th) may have been destroyed during the Syrian Civil War, the surviving three regiments were merged to other formations such as the Republican Guard, Tiger Forces and 4th Corps.<ref name="mei3"/> Later reports state that two battalions from the 54th regiment serve within the 17th Division.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mei.edu/publications/return-northeast-syrian-army-deployments-against-turkish-forces|title=Return to the northeast: Syrian Army deployments against Turkish forces|website=Middle East Institute}}</ref>
New units were created by 2021.<ref name="NewRg1"/> As of August 2022, according to Gregory Waters, the structure was:<ref name="mei3">{{Cite web|url=https://www.mei.edu/publications/lion-and-eagle-syrian-arab-armys-destruction-and-rebirth#pt9|title=The Lion and The Eagle: The Syrian Arab Army's Destruction and Rebirth|website=Middle East Institute|author=Gregory Waters|date=18 July 2019|access-date=20 September 2022}}</ref><ref name="mei6">{{Cite web|url=https://www.mei.edu/publications/tiger-forces-16th-brigade-russias-evolving-syrian-proxies|title=From Tiger Forces to the 16th Brigade: Russia's evolving Syrian proxies|website=Middle East Institute|author=Gregory Waters|date=12 September 2022|access-date=16 November 2023}}</ref> {{Col-begin}} {{Col-break}}
==== Units reporting to the Chief of Staff ==== * 17px '''Republican Guard''' ** 100th Artillery Regiment ** 101st Security Regiment<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://twitter.com/GregoryPWaters/status/1136725554156191747?t=OxouQP7NfDrPWsQJuGOGBQ&s=19|title=Unit of the #Republican_Guard's 101st Regiment holds a massive storage depot in #Kernaz (at an old SRG base for training purposes).|author=Gregory Waters|access-date=21 November 2023|date=6 June 2019|website=Twitter}}</ref> ** 102nd Security Regiment ** 103rd Commando Brigade ** 104th Airborne Brigade<ref name="unit1"/> ** 105th Mechanized Brigade<ref name="unit1"/> ** 107th Artillery Regiment<ref name="NewRg1"/> ** 108th Armored Regiment<ref name="NewRg1"/> ** 109th Armored Regiment<ref name="NewRg1"/> ** 151st Mechanized Regiment<ref name="NewRg1"/> ** 152nd Mechanized Regiment<ref name="NewRg1"/> ** 800th Regiment<ref>{{cite web |author=Leith Fadel |url=https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/four-high-ranking-jihadist-commanders-killed-aleppo/ |title=Four high-ranking jihadist commanders killed in Aleppo |date=23 November 2016 |publisher=Al-Masdar News |access-date=2017-03-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170216215801/https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/four-high-ranking-jihadist-commanders-killed-aleppo/ |archive-date=2017-02-16 |url-status=dead }}</ref> ** ''Lionesses of Defence'' Armored Brigade<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/assad-s-lionesses-the-female-last-line-in-the-battle-for-syria-8462221.html|title=Assad's Lionesses: the female last line in the battle for Syria|work=The Independent|date=22 January 2013|access-date=21 September 2023|author=Loveday Morris}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.france24.com/en/20150402-syria-women-soldiers-assad-army-propaganda|title=Assad's female fighters: Progress or propaganda?|publisher=France 24|access-date=18 November 2023|date=2 April 2015|author=Sarah Leduc}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newarab.com/features/arab-armies-turn-women-illusion-or-new-reality|title=Arab armies turn to women: An illusion or a new reality?|date=17 November 2021|access-date=26 November 2023|newspaper=The New Arab |last1=Erchoff |first1=Sami }}</ref> ** 17px '''30th Division'''<ref>{{cite web |author=Paul Antonopoulos |url=https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/new-syrian-army-division-established-preparation-new-offensive/ |title=New Syrian Arab Army Division established in preparation of new offensive |date=22 January 2017 |publisher=Al-Masdar News |access-date=2017-03-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202012132/https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/new-syrian-army-division-established-preparation-new-offensive/ |archive-date=2017-02-02 |url-status=dead }}</ref> *** 102nd Commando Brigade *** 106th Mechanized Brigade *** 123rd Special Forces Brigade<ref name="meil4"/> *** 124th Special Forces Brigade<ref name="meil4">{{Cite web|title=Current Syrian Army Deployments|url=https://international-review.org/current-syrian-army-deployments/|author=Gregory Waters|date=12 May 2020|access-date=17 October 2023|website=International Review}}</ref> *** 135th Mechanized Brigade<ref name="mei3"/> *** 47th Special Forces Regiment<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://twitter.com/GregoryPWaters/status/1542239971020484608?t=Lc0WdfqquK6GkC6Pi9fxkw&s=19|title=Hellcannon of the 1st Company of the Republican Guard's 30th Division, 47th Regiment, 63rd Battalion.|publisher=Twitter|author=Gregory Waters|access-date=3 March 2024|date=29 June 2022}}</ref> *** 93rd Special Forces Regiment *** 147th Special Forces Regiment *** Artillery Regiment * 25px '''4th Armoured Division'''<ref name="unit1">[https://us.dk/publikationer/2023/april/syria-the-special-forces-and-the-elite-units/ Syria - The Special Forces and the Elite Units]</ref> ** 38th Armored Brigade<ref name="RgNew6">{{Cite web|url=https://www.mei.edu/publications/fourth-division-syrias-parallel-army|title=The Fourth Division: Syria's parallel army|author=Abdullah Alghadawi|publisher=Middle East Institute|access-date=29 February 2024|date=24 September 2021}}</ref> ** 40th Armored Brigade ** 41st Armored Brigade ** 42nd Armored Brigade ** 138th Mechanized Brigade ** 333rd Infantry Regiment ** 555th Special Forces (Airborne) Regiment ** 666th Infantry Regiment<ref name="mei3"/> ** 154th Artillery Regiment<ref name="RgNew6"/> **Al-Imam Hussein Brigade<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://israel-alma.org/2023/07/27/the-al-imam-hussein-brigade-the-assimilation-of-a-shiite-militia-into-the-syrian-armys-4th-division-as-well-as-its-attacks-on-israeli-and-us-forces/|title=The "Al-Imam Hussein Brigade"- The Assimilation of a Shiite Militia into The Syrian Army's 4th Division, As Well as its Attacks on Israeli and US forces|author=Tal Beeri|work=Alma Research and Education Center |publisher=Israel Alma|date=27 July 2023|access-date=17 November 2023}}</ref> ** Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba Syrian-wing<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.aymennjawad.org/2018/09/harakat-al-nujaba-interview|title = Harakat al-Nujaba': Interview| date=5 September 2018 }}</ref>
Special Forces units formed during the Syrian Civil War: * 25px '''25th Special Mission Forces Division'''<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/tiger-forces-renamed-and-placed-under-command-of-syrian-army/|title=Tiger Forces renamed and placed under command of Syrian Army|publisher=Al-Masdar News|date=29 August 2019|access-date=29 August 2019|archive-date=29 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190829154015/https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/tiger-forces-renamed-and-placed-under-command-of-syrian-army/|url-status=dead}}</ref> ** 26th Infantry Brigade<ref>[https://twitter.com/SAMSyria0/status/1792833139758284953?t=T8XDyxmDdt8WnYay65519g&s=19 استشهاد العقيد شرف عبدو السلات من مرتبات اللواء 26 مشاة - فرقة 25 مهام خاصة من الجيش العربي السوري أثناء أداء واجبه الوطني في البادية السورية في المعارك ضد تنظيم "د.ا.عش" الإرهابي شرقي محافظة حمص، الشهيد من محافظة إدلب.]</ref> ** 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th Special Forces (Airborne) Regiments<ref name="mei6"/> ** 75th Armored Regiment<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://x.com/SAMSyria0/status/1845594726021447845?t=OUMHdg4k-f41s1PBbfHC4Q&s=19|title=وصول قوات من الفوج 75 - فرقة 25 🇸🇾 إلى جبهات ريف حلب لتعزيز مواقع الجيش العربي السوري ومواجهة أي تصعيد من التنظيمات-الإرها-بية.}}</ref> ** 78th Armored Regiment<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://x.com/SAMSyria0/status/1850178689041899846?t=UilQfsB3qYcBO5omUrjRSQ&s=19|title=<nowiki>ريف إدلب: الفوج 78 | فرقة 25 من الجيش العربي السوري يتصدى لمحاولة مجموعة-إرها-بية التسلل-والاعتداء على النقاط في الخطوط الأمامية وتمكنت الوحدة من-قتـ.ل 4 إرهابيين-وجرح آخرين وفرار من تبقى منهم كما تم التصدي لهجوم إرها-بي بالمسيرات على المناطق الآمنة وتدمير وإسقاط عدد من المسيرات.</nowiki>}}</ref> ** Independent Artillery Regiment *'''16th Storming Brigade'''{{Efn|(created in 2020)}}<ref name="mei6"/>
==== 1st Corps ==== * ''5th Mechanized Division'' ** 15th Mechanized Brigade ** 112th Mechanized Brigade ** 132nd Mechanized Brigade ** 12th Armored Brigade ** 38th Infantry Brigade<ref name="mei3"/> ** 59th Commando Battalion<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://twitter.com/Bosni_94/status/1760387034147959161?t=AoBiayiHzVFOOXLONep4qA&s=19|title=SAA's 59th Battalion (Commandos)}}</ref> ** 175th Artillery Regiment * ''6th Armored Division'' (formed in 2015)<ref name="mei3"/> ** 76th Armored Brigade ** 85th Armored Brigade ** 88th Armored Brigade ** 55th Mechanized Brigade ** 45th Special Forces Regiment<ref name="meil4"/> * {{flagicon image|SYR-inf-DIV-flag.svg}} ''7th Mechanized Division'' ** 88th Mechanized Brigade ** 90th Mechanized Brigade ** 121st Mechanized Brigade<ref name="meil4"/> ** 78th Armored Brigade ** 70th Artillery Brigade * {{flagicon image|Syrian-9thDIV-TRF.svg}} ''9th Armored Division'' ** 34th Armored Brigade ** 43rd Armored Brigade ** 701st Armored Brigade ** 52nd Mechanized Brigade<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/168052|title=Largest Syrian Brigade Nears Breaking Point|work=Arutz Sheva|date=16 May 2013 |access-date=2013-06-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130607114227/http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/168052|archive-date=2013-06-07|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/syrian-army-restores-lost-points-golan-heights/|title=Syrian Army restores all lost points in Golan Heights|first=Leith|last=Fadel|date=12 September 2016|access-date=2016-09-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160913152249/https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/syrian-army-restores-lost-points-golan-heights/|archive-date=2016-09-13|url-status=dead}}</ref> ** 467th Special Forces Regiment ** 89th Artillery Brigade<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://twitter.com/GregoryPWaters/status/1127483700252307456?t=GHgZcxKclJtLDGFZ_87pVA&s=19|title=Fighter from the 109th Battalion, 89th Brig of the #9th_Division KIA in #Idlib|access-date=22 March 2024|date=12 May 2019|author=Gregory Waters|website=Twitter}}</ref> *{{flagicon image|Syrian-SF-TRF.svg}} '''15th Special Forces Division'''<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/syrian-army-kicks-off-new-operation-in-daraa/|title=Syrian Army kicks off new operation in Daraa|date=May 8, 2020|access-date=October 1, 2023|archive-date=January 17, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210117194631/https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/syrian-army-kicks-off-new-operation-in-daraa/|url-status=dead}}</ref> ** 35th Special Forces Regiment ** 44th Special Forces Regiment ** 127th Special Forces Regiment<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://twitter.com/GregoryPWaters/status/1644741255400763392?t=8sBl1RxNNucBs8dPSiEW-A&s=19|title=SAA's 531st Battalion/44th Regiment/15th Division downed an HTS drone in Idlib|publisher=Twitter|author=Gregory Waters|access-date=24 February 2024|date=8 April 2023}}</ref> ** 404th Armored Regiment ** 405th Armored Regiment<ref>[https://twitter.com/GregoryPWaters/status/1090661053166379008?t=YhsHqcHLNhaLAOXfuoewEw&s=19 Armor depot of the 404th Armored Reg, 15th Special Forces Div.]</ref> ** 176th Artillery Battalion
==== 2nd Corps ==== * ''1st Armored Division'' ** 61st Armored Brigade ** 91st Armored Brigade ** 153rd Armored Brigade ** 57th Mechanized Brigade ** 58th Mechanized Brigade ** 68th Mechanized Brigade ** 171st Infantry Brigade ** 165th Artillery Brigade<ref>[https://x.com/GregoryPWaters/status/1801752211791229185?t=2LpW_ktJVwJWle4DgQMr4w&s=19 #Russia{{!}}n officers training SAA students on ATGM at the 165th Artillery Brigade base south of Kisweh]</ref> ** 141st Artillery Regiment ** 167th Anti-tank Regiment * ''2nd Armored Division'' (formed in 2015)<ref name="mei3"/> ** 144th Armored Brigade ** 145th Armored Brigade<ref name="meil4"/> ** 73rd Infantry Brigade<ref>[https://twitter.com/SAMSyria0/status/1768576644615176294?t=ftCVmYzAoBqYgtAJ_XDptw&s=19 شُيّع من المشفى العسكري في طرطوس منذ قليل الشهيد النقيب شرف جعفر عماد فاضل من مرتبات الفرقة الثانية (B73 - مشاة) في الجيش العربي]</ref> ** 48th Special Forces Regiment ** 53rd Special Forces Regiment<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://twitter.com/GregoryPWaters/status/1700213675766800754?t=EnmEJEDvSxa3s85mXCAqdw&s=19|title=Brigadier Gandhi Ibrahim has been appointed commander of its 48th Regiment|website=Twitter|author=Gregory Waters|date=8 September 2023|access-date=25 February 2024}}</ref><ref>[https://twitter.com/GregoryPWaters/status/1656704335932211201?t=Aw6P7GaHLWZ-JfeKB5Wl4A&s=191 82nd Battalion of the 53rd SF Regiment (originally part of Special Forces Command now in 2nd Div)]</ref> ** 826th Coastal Regiment<ref name="meil4"/> * ''10th Mechanized Division'' ** 18th Mechanized Brigade ** 62nd Mechanized Brigade<ref name="NewRg1">[https://www.zamanalwsl.net/news/article/137433/ الحرس الجمهوري".. تشكيلات جديدة لتعزيز حماية الأسد منها "اقتحام نسائى" (صور وأسماء)]</ref> ** 51st Armored Brigade ** 58th Armored Brigade<ref>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.</ref> ** 122nd Artillery Regiment<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://twitter.com/GregoryPWaters/status/1155137981914603521?t=T8DDEod-CD7YYCzNvBD7BQ&s=19|title=122nd Artillery regiment belongs to the 10th Division|author=Gregory Waters|website=Twitter|date=27 July 2019|access-date=12 February 2024}}</ref> * {{flagicon image|Syrian-SF-TRF.svg}} '''14th Special Forces Division'''<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/confirmed-syrian-armys-full-order-battle-east-damascus-offensive/|title=Confirmed: Syrian Army's full order of battle for east Damascus offensive|date=18 February 2018|publisher=Al-Masdar News|access-date=20 February 2018|archive-date=13 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190513115127/https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/confirmed-syrian-armys-full-order-battle-east-damascus-offensive/|url-status=dead}}</ref> ** 36th Special Forces Regiment ** 554th Special Forces Regiment ** 556th Special Forces Regiment
{{Col-break}}
==== 3rd Corps ==== * {{flagicon image|SYR-Armour-DIV-flag.svg}} ''3rd Armored Division'' ** 20th Armored Brigade ** 65th Armored Brigade ** 81st Armored Brigade<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://twitter.com/GregoryPWaters/status/1594351166481203201?t=ihuC46GnLrz0kM_jJYZSbg&s=19|title=Tel Rifaat #Aleppo - one 3rd Div soldier & 5 local militia-men Darbasiyah #Hasakah - 3 soldiers killed from 20th Brigade/3rd Div|author=Gregory Waters|website=Twitter|date=20 November 2022|access-date=23 March 2024}}</ref> ** 21st Mechanized Brigade ** 155th Missile Brigade<ref name="GrWat9">{{Cite web|url=https://twitter.com/GregoryPWaters/status/1155137981914603521?t=T8DDEod-CD7YYCzNvBD7BQ&s=19|title=3rd Division's artillery regiment is the 14th (the 155th is an affiliated missile brigade).|author=Gregory Waters|website=Twitter|date=27 July 2019|access-date=12 February 2024}}</ref> ** 14th Artillery Regiment ** 67th Artillery Regiment<ref name="GrWat9"/>{{sfn|Cooper|2015|p=18}} * ''8th Armored Division'' (formed in 2015)<ref name="Gregory Waters">{{Cite web|url=https://international-review.org/understanding-syrias-military-deployments-in-idlib/|title=Understanding Syria's Military Deployments in Idlib|date=12 March 2019|access-date=22 March 2023|author=Gregory Waters|website=International Review}}</ref> ** 33rd Armored Brigade ** 47th Armored Brigade<ref name="fend">{{cite web|url=https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/syrian-army-reinforcements-arrive-northern-hama-fend-off-jihadist-offensive/|title=Syrian Army reinforcements arrive to northern Hama to fend off jihadist offensive|work=al-Masdar News|author=Leith Fadel|date=22 March 2017|access-date=22 March 2017|archive-date=21 February 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190221122236/https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/syrian-army-reinforcements-arrive-northern-hama-fend-off-jihadist-offensive/|url-status=dead}}</ref> ** 45th Mechanized Brigade ** 45th Artillery Regiment * {{flagicon image|Syrian-11thDIV-TRF.svg}} ''11th Armored Division''<ref>{{cite news|url= http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/syrias-nusra-seizes-tanks-apcs-assads-army-1969509709 | title= Syria's Nusra seizes tanks, APCs from Assad's army | publisher= Middle East Eye | date= December 20, 2014 |access-date=December 20, 2014}}</ref> ** 60th Armored Brigade ** 67th Armored Brigade ** 87th Mechanized Brigade<ref>{{cite news|url=http://en.abna24.com/service/middle-east-west-asia/archive/2016/02/20/735911/story.html|title=Syrian commandos begin long campaign to Jisr Al-Shughour|date=20 February 2016|access-date=24 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160430201539/http://en.abna24.com/service/middle-east-west-asia/archive/2016/02/20/735911/story.html|archive-date=2016-04-30|url-status=live |publisher=Masdar News }}</ref> ** 89th Artillery Regiment ** 135th Artillery Regiment{{sfn|Cooper|2015|p=18}} * {{flagicon image|Syrian-17thDIV-trf.svg}} ''17th Reserve Division'' ** 137th Mechanized Brigade ** 93rd Armored Brigade ** 54th Special Forces Regiment<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mei.edu/publications/return-northeast-syrian-army-deployments-against-turkish-forces|title=Return to the northeast: Syrian Army deployments against Turkish forces|website=Middle East Institute|date=20 November 2019|access-date=20 November 2023|author=Gregory Waters}}</ref> ** 121st Artillery Regiment ** 123rd Artillery Regiment<ref name="mei5"/> *''18th Armored Division''{{sfn|Cooper|2015|p=13, 18-19}} ** 131st Armored Brigade ** 134th Armored Brigade ** 167th Armored Brigade ** 120th Mechanized Brigade ** 64th Artillery Regiment *25px '''Border Guard Forces'''<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://international-review.org/syrias-border-guards-from-auxiliary-to-frontlines/|title=Syria's Border Guards: From Auxiliary to Frontlines|author=Gregory Waters|work=International Review |date=25 September 2019 |access-date=14 October 2023}}</ref> ** 5th Regiment (Hasakah pocket) ** 6th Regiment (Southern Homs) ** 8th Regiment (Jordan-Syria border) ** 10th Regiment (Iraq-Syria border) ** 11th Regiment (Latakia) ** 12th Regiment (Manbij and Ayn al-Arab) **Unknown Regiment (likely Lebanon-Syria border) ** 87th Battalion (Talkalakh)
==== 5th Assault Corps ==== {{Distinguish|5th Corps (Syrian rebel group)}} *1st Assault Brigade<ref name="mei5">{{Cite web|url=https://www.mei.edu/publications/return-northeast-syrian-army-deployments-against-turkish-forces|title=Return to the northeast: Syrian Army deployments against Turkish forces|author=Gregory Waters|access-date=18 October 2023|date=20 November 2019|publisher=Middle East Institute}}</ref> **13th Battalion **1579th Battalion<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://twitter.com/GregoryPWaters/status/1517562791497981954?t=Jif1NxDED-6m0ChYh-Wh0Q&s=19|title=1579th Battalion of the 5th Corps' 1st Brigade patrolling southeast #Hama this week.}}</ref> *2nd Assault Brigade<ref name="Gregory Waters"/> *3rd Assault Brigade<ref name="mei3"/> **103rd Battalion *4th Assault Brigade<ref name="mei3"/> **Ba'ath Battalion *5th Assault Brigade<ref name="mei3"/> **1st Infantry Regiment **2nd Infantry Regiment *6th Assault Brigade<ref name="mei3"/> **79th Infantry Battalion **86th Infantry Battalion *7th Assault Brigade<ref name="mei3"/> **3rd Infantry Battalion *8th Assault Brigade<ref name="mei3"/> *25px '''al-Quds Brigade'''<ref name="mei4"/> **Lions of al-Quds Battalion<ref name="mei4">{{Cite book|title=From Insurgents to Soldiers: The Fifth Assault Corps in Daraa, Southern Syria|series=Wartime and Post-Conflict in Syria|first=Abdullah|last=Al-Jabassini|publisher=European University Institute|isbn=978-92-9084-767-0|year=2019}}</ref> **Defenders of Aleppo Battalion **Deterrence Battalion **Lions of al-Shahba Battalion<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.aldorars.com/en/news/266 |title=The Palestinian al-Quds Brigade has a new Iran-backed militia for fighting in Aleppo |work=Al-Dorar al-Shamia |date=20 June 2017 |access-date=28 August 2017 |archive-date=25 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170825133805/http://www.aldorars.com/en/news/266 |url-status=dead }}</ref> *103rd and 148th Artillery Brigades<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://twitter.com/GregoryPWaters/status/1355662082876837890?t=5Hc-FAdoNq6BlSW80L-bFg&s=19|title=Pictures from inside the #Russian base in Ain Issa, Raqqa. 5th Corps 148th Brig|publisher=Twitter|author=Gregory Waters|access-date=2 March 2024|date=31 January 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|author=Игорь Январёв, Никита Голобоков|title=Как Россия меняет Сирийскую армию|newspaper=News.ru |url=https://news.ru/near-east/kak-rossiya-menyaet-sirijskuyu-armiyu/|date=2019-04-20|accessdate=2020-02-28|archiveurl=https://archive.today/20200228131818/https://news.ru/near-east/kak-rossiya-menyaet-sirijskuyu-armiyu/|archivedate=2020-02-28}}</ref> {{Col-end}}
=== Major officials and units, March 2026 === After HTS seized control, it created a new army from its forces and acceding groups (e.g. SNA, SFA, NFL, SM, FSA, etc.). After the 2026 northeastern Syria offensive and the subsequent January 29 ceasefire, the SDF agreed to be integrated into the structure of the Syrian Army.
{| class="wikitable" !Role/Unit !Name/Commander !Notes |- ! colspan="3" |Ministry of Defense |- |Minister of Defense |Major General Murhaf Abu Qasra |<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Every Known Position In The New Syrian Government |url=https://www.jihadologyplus.com/p/every-known-position-in-the-new-syrian |date=8 March 2025 |access-date=17 March 2025 |last=Zelin |first=Aaron Y. |website=Jihadology+ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250403141107/https://www.jihadologyplus.com/p/every-known-position-in-the-new-syrian |archive-date=3 April 2025 |url-status=live}}</ref> |- |Chief of Staff |Major General Ali Noureddine al-Naasan |<ref name=":1" /> |- |Deputy Minister of Defense |Major General Mohammed Khair Hassan Shuaib |<ref>{{Cite web |title=محمد شعيب نائبًا لوزير الدفاع السوري.. من هو؟ |url=https://www.enabbaladi.net/757341/محمد-شعيب-نائبًا-لوزير-الدفاع-السوري-م/ |date=1 June 2025 |access-date=1 June 2025 |website=Enab Baladi |language=ar |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250601142707/https://www.enabbaladi.net/757341/محمد-شعيب-نائبًا-لوزير-الدفاع-السوري-م/ |archive-date=1 June 2025 |url-status=live}}</ref> |- |Deputy Minister of Defense for the Eastern Regions |Sipan Hamo |<ref>{{Cite web |last=Corporation |first=Nalia |title=سیپان حهمۆ وهك بریكاری وهزیری بهرگری سوریا دهستنیشانكرا |url=http://www.nrttv.com/detail/57388 |access-date=2026-03-10 |website=nrttv.com}}</ref> |- |Assistant Minister of Defense for the Northern Region |Brigadier General Fahim Issa |<ref>{{cite news |title=ما المنصب الذي تقلّده فهيم عيسى في وزارة الدفاع السورية؟ |trans-title=What Position Did Fahim Issa Assume in the Syrian Ministry of Defense? |url=https://www.syria.tv/ما-المنصب-الذي-تقلّده-فهيم-عيسى-في-وزارة-الدفاع-السورية؟ |website=Syria TV |language=ar |date=13 April 2025 |access-date=14 April 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250413112143/https://www.syria.tv/ما-المنصب-الذي-تقلّده-فهيم-عيسى-في-وزارة-الدفاع-السورية؟ |archive-date=13 April 2025 |url-status=live}}</ref> |- |Spokesperson for the Ministry of Defense |Colonel Hassan Abdul Ghani |<ref name=":1" /> |- |Head of Officer Affairs |Brigadier General Mohammed Mansour |<ref name=":1" /> |- |Committee Official in the Military Operations Department |Abu ‘Ubaydah al-Shami |<ref name=":1" /> |- |Head of the Medical Administration |Dr. Ahmed al-Youssef |<ref name=":1" /> |- |Director of the Higher Military Academy in the Syrian Ministry of Defense |Brigadier General Fadlallah al-Hajji |<ref name=":1" /> |- ! colspan="3" |Armed Forces |- ! colspan="3" |Latakia |- |50th Coastal Division (NFL) |Brigadier General Ahmed Ismail |<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=The New Syrian Army: Structure and Commanders |url=https://www.syriarevisited.com/p/the-new-syrian-army-structure-and |date=28 March 2025 |access-date=29 March 2025 |last=Waters |first=Gregory |website=Syria Revisited |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250328211444/https://www.syriarevisited.com/p/the-new-syrian-army-structure-and |archive-date=28 March 2025 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=NSYRARMY>{{cite web|url=https://understandingwar.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/The-New-Syrian-Army-Order-of-Battle_final.pdf|title=THE NEW SYRIAN ARMY: ORDER OF BATTLE|date=November 2025|access-date=5 February 2026}}</ref><ref name=":02">{{Cite journal |last=Shapira |first=Boaz |date=July 2025 |title=Special Report- The New Syrian Army |url=https://israel-alma.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Special-Report-The-New-Syrian-Army-.pdf |journal=Alma Research and Education Center |pages=}}</ref> |- |56th Division (HTS) |Colonel Tariq Solaq |<ref name=":2" /><ref name=NSYRARMY /> |- |84th Division (Foreign fighters) |Brigadier General Abu Muhammad Turkistani |<ref name=":02"/> |- ! colspan="3" |Aleppo |- |60th Division (HTS/SNA) |Brigadier General Awad Muhammad |<ref name=":2" /><ref name=NSYRARMY /> |- |76th Division (SNA) |Brigadier General Saif Bulad |<ref>{{Cite web |title=سيف الدين بولاد... من ملازم منشق عن النظام إلى قائد الفرقة 76 في الجيش السوري |url=https://www.alaraby.co.uk/politics/سيف-الدين-بولاد-من-ملازم-منشق-إلى-قائد-الفرقة-76-في-الجيش-السوري |date=24 March 2025 |access-date=19 May 2025 |last=Kerkes |first=Mohamed |website=Al-Araby Al-Jadeed |language=ar |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250324200424/https://www.alaraby.co.uk/politics/سيف-الدين-بولاد-من-ملازم-منشق-إلى-قائد-الفرقة-76-في-الجيش-السوري |archive-date=24 March 2025 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=NSYRARMY /> |- |80th Division (SNA) |Brigadier General Ahmed Rizk |<ref name=":2" /><ref name=NSYRARMY /> |- |72nd Division (SNA) |Colonel Doghan Suleiman<ref name="SyriaDirect27Jun25">{{cite news |last1=Nelson |first1=Mateo |title=Turkey in Syria: Temporary necessity turned permanent presence? |url=https://syriadirect.org/turkey-in-syria-temporary-necessity-turned-permanent-presence/ |access-date=13 September 2025 |work=Syria Direct |date=27 June 2025}}</ref> |<ref name=":2" /><ref name=NSYRARMY /> |- ! colspan="3" |Hama |- |54th Division (NFL) |''Vacant'' |<ref name=":2" /><ref name=NSYRARMY /> |- |62nd Division (SNA) |Mohammed al-Jassem |<ref>{{Cite web |title=Syrian Defense Ministry appoints "Abu Amsha" as Hama Brigade commander |url=https://english.enabbaladi.net/archives/2025/02/syrian-defense-ministry-appoints-abu-amsha-as-hama-brigade-commander/ |date=3 February 2025 |access-date=24 June 2025 |website=Enab Baladi |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250209213959/https://english.enabbaladi.net/archives/2025/02/syrian-defense-ministry-appoints-abu-amsha-as-hama-brigade-commander/ |archive-date=9 February 2025 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=NSYRARMY /> |- |74th Special Forces Division (AG/NFL) |Brigadier General Jamil al-Saleh |<ref>{{Cite web |title=Syria Appoints Former Opposition Commander to Lead Newly Restructured Military Division |url=https://npasyria.com/en/122311/ |date=19 February 2025 |access-date=26 June 2025 |last=Roj |first=Kardo |website=North Press Agency |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250219194832/https://npasyria.com/en/122311/ |archive-date=19 February 2025 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=NSYRARMY /> |- |82nd Special Forces Division (SM) |Brigadier General Khaled Al-Halabi Abu Khattab |<ref name=":2" /><ref name=NSYRARMY /> |- ! colspan="3" |Daraa |- |40th Division (NFL/EB) |Colonel Binyan al-Hariri |<ref name=":2" /><ref name=NSYRARMY /> |- ! colspan="3" |Damascus |- |44th Special Forces Division (HTS/NFL) |Brigadier General Abu Abdul Rahman Najib |<ref name=":2" /><ref name=NSYRARMY /> |- |70th Division (SNA) |Issam Bouidani |<ref name=":2" /><ref name=NSYRARMY /> |- |77th Division (NFL) |Sheikh Abu Adnan al-Zabadani |<ref name=":2" /><ref name=NSYRARMY /> |- |Damascus Division (HTS) |Brigadier General Omar Mohammed Jeftshi |<ref name=":2" /><ref name=NSYRARMY /><ref>https://x.com/ALBADIA24/status/1889296890627272975</ref> |- |Republican Guard (HTS) |Brigadier General Abdul Rahman al-Khatib |<ref name=":2" /><ref name=NSYRARMY /> |- ! colspan="3" |Idlib |- |64th Division (NFL) |Brigadier General Muhammad Ahmad al-Gharib |<ref name=":2" /><ref name=NSYRARMY /> |- |98th Armored Division (SNA) |Yousef al-Hamwi |<ref name=":2" /><ref name=NSYRARMY /> |- ! colspan="3" |Homs |- |52nd Special Forces Division (HTS/SNA) |Brigadier General Haitham al-Ali |<ref name=":2" /><ref name=NSYRARMY /> |- ! colspan="3" |Badia |- |42nd Division (SNA/NFL) |Brigadier General Raed Arab |<ref name=":2" /><ref name=NSYRARMY /> |- ! colspan="3" |Eastern Syria |- |66th Division (HTS/SNA) |Colonel Ahmed Al-Muhammad |<ref name=":2" /><ref name=NSYRARMY /> |- |86th Division (SNA) |Brigadier General Abu Hatem Shaqra |<ref>{{Cite web |title=سورية: تعيين أبو حاتم شقرا قائداً للفرقة 86 في المنطقة الشرقية دون إعلان رسمي |url=https://www.alaraby.co.uk/politics/أبو-حاتم-شقرا-قائداً-للفرقة-86-في-المنطقة-الشرقية-دون-إعلان-رسمي |date=5 May 2025 |access-date=20 May 2025 |last=Kerkes |first=Mohamed |website=Al-Araby Al-Jadeed |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250505233831/https://www.alaraby.co.uk/politics/أبو-حاتم-شقرا-قائداً-للفرقة-86-في-المنطقة-الشرقية-دون-إعلان-رسمي |archive-date=5 May 2025 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=NSYRARMY /> |- ! colspan="3" |Other divisions |- |111th Division (HTS) | |<ref name=":2" /><ref name=NSYRARMY /> |}
== Military equipment == {{Main|List of equipment of the Syrian Armed Forces}} Following the fall of the Assad regime, Israel launched several strikes on Syrian military bases, destroying up to 80% of the country's ammunition stocks as well as their navy, most of their air force and the majority of their strategic weapons stocks.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Israel readies for strikes as Trump's 'maximum pressure 2.0' targets Iran's nuclear threat – the details|url=https://www.lbcgroup.tv/news/news-bulletin-reports/824418/israel-readies-for-strikes-as-trumps-maximum-pressure-20-targets-irans/en|access-date=2024-12-16|website=LBCIV7|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Israel seizing on Syria chaos to strike military assets|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cdx921zreweo|access-date=2024-12-16|website=www.bbc.com|language=en-GB}}</ref> Restructuring of the Syrian military is currently ongoing with Turkish military assistance.
Prior to the fall of the Assad regime, most Syrian military equipment were purchased from the Soviet Union, and later on, Russia; Iranian-made Western weapons and equipment were also used as well, mostly as captured equipment from opposition forces, though were mostly reserved for the Syrian Republican Guard.
== Uniforms, weapons and rank insignia == === Uniforms and personnel equipment === {{See also|Syrian Armed Forces#Uniforms (1987)}} Service uniforms for Syrian officers generally followed the British Army style, although army combat clothing followed the Soviet model.<ref name=LOC1987>{{cite web|title=Uniforms and Rank Insignia|url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field%28DOCID+sy0126%29|publisher=Library of Congress|date=April 1987|access-date=2018-11-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202002925/http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd%2Fcstdy%3A%40field%28DOCID+sy0126%29|archive-date=2017-02-02|url-status=live}}</ref> Each uniform had two coats: a long one for dress and a short jacket for informal wear. Army officer uniforms were khaki in summer, olive in winter. All Army (including paratroops and special forces) and Air Defense Force personnel wore camouflage uniforms.<ref name="orp1"/> Among the camouflage were Red Lizard, Syrian Leaf patterns, and EMR Desert; a locally made copy of the ERDL and M81 Woodland.<ref name="SYun"/><ref name="orp1"/> In addition to these patterns, the Syrian Armed Forces have also been observed wearing MultiCam uniforms. Photographs and official documentation show its use among Army, Navy, and Air Force officers and enlisted personnel in the 2025.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Syrian Ministry of Defense delegation participating in the "IDEF 2025" defense industry exhibition in Turkey |url=https://x.com/QUSAY_NOOR_/status/1949134632949064079 |website=X (Twitter) |date=26 July 2025 |access-date=2025-08-28}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Damascus Airport welcomes pilgrims from Syrian Ministry of Defense wounded personnel |url=https://archive.sana.sy/en/?p=360943 |website=SANA |date=24 June 2025 |access-date=2025-08-28}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=زيارة وفد من وزارة الدفاع إلى الكلية الجوية في تركيا |url=https://t.me/Sy_Defense/895 |website=Telegram |date=22 August 2025 |access-date=2025-08-28}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Meeting of the Minister of Defense with military division commanders |url=https://t.me/Sy_Defense/903 |website=Telegram |date=27 August 2025 |access-date=2025-08-28}}</ref> Reports indicate that its use by Syrian forces began as early as 2022, when personnel were documented wearing MultiCam during joint training with Russian special forces.<ref>{{cite web |title=Syrian regime appoints Suhail al-Hassan as commander of Special Forces |url=https://english.enabbaladi.net/archives/2024/04/syrian-regime-appoints-suhail-al-hassan-as-commander-of-special-forces |website=Enab Baladi |date=10 April 2024 |access-date=2025-08-28}}</ref>
Officers had a variety of headgear, including a service cap, garrison cap, and beret (linen in summer and wool in winter).<ref name="SYun">{{Cite web|title=A snapshot of camouflage patterns in Syria – Armament Research Services|date=15 August 2016|url=http://armamentresearch.com/a-snapshot-of-camouflage-patterns-in-syria/|access-date=2020-09-02|language=en-GB}}</ref> The color of the beret varied according to the officer's unit. The most common beret color was black, for Infantry, Engineering, Signals and supporting arms personnel, followed by green, for Armored, Mechanized and Artillery personnel, red for the Republican Guard and Military Police, and maroon (blue) for the Special Forces.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bellingcat.com/news/mena/2015/02/19/from-russia-with-love-syrias-ak-74ms/|title=From Russia with Love, Syria's AK-74Ms|date=19 February 2015|website=bellingcat}}</ref>
Since 2009, the SAA had acquired large numbers of Chinese-produced combat gear, including helmets and bullet proof vests.<ref name="orp1">{{cite news|url=https://www.oryxspioenkop.com/2016/11/photo-report-syrian-arab-army.html|title=Photo Report: The Syrian Arab Army (1)|work=Oryx Blog|access-date=12 October 2023|date=6 November 2016|first1=Stijn|last1=Mitzer|first2=Joost|last2=Oliemans}}</ref> In 2011, the standard issue combat helmets were the olive Chinese QGF-02, and the Soviet SSh-68 for the reserve forces.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://brendonshelmets.weebly.com/syria-ssh68.html|title=Syria Ssh68|work=Brendon's Helmets|access-date=2013-07-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130330005043/http://brendonshelmets.weebly.com/syria-ssh68.html|archive-date=2013-03-30|url-status=live}}</ref> Both of them could be equipped with the Syrian Leaf camouflage helmet covers. Since 2015, some regular units were equipped with 6B7 helmets from Russia. Standard protective gear for all Army units were (PASGT) TAT-BA-7 bullet-proof vests. The Republican Guard and Special Forces were the only units equipped with ACH, FAST, 6B47 helmets and 6B45, Ruyin-3 ballistic vests. The Syrian military also provided NBC uniforms to soldiers to remain effective in an environment affected by biological or chemical agents. This uniform consisted of a Russian-made Model GP-5, PMK and ShMS-41 masks.<ref name=Rottman1993>{{cite book|author=Gordon Rottman|title=Armies of the Gulf War|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nfT5KsdYk4cC&pg=PA58|access-date=20 March 2013|date=27 May 1993|publisher=Osprey Publishing|isbn=978-1-85532-277-6|page=58|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140422075655/http://books.google.com/books?id=nfT5KsdYk4cC&pg=PA58|archive-date=22 April 2014|url-status=live}}</ref>
===Service weapons=== {{Main|List of equipment of the Syrian Army}}
Service weapons of the Syrian Arab Army consisted of stocks of Cold War-era arms. Main service pistols of the Syrian Army were Makarov PM and Stechkin-APS. Main service assault rifles were Soviet AKM/AKMS, AK-74, Chinese Type 56 and Sa vz. 58.<ref name="FranceSoir">{{cite news|language=fr|title=Syrie: les ISIS Hunters, ces soldats du régime de Damas formés par la Russie|url=http://www.francesoir.fr/politique-monde/syrie-les-isis-hunters-ces-soldats-du-regime-de-damas-formes-par-moscou-bachar-al-assad-forces-speciales-russie-syriens-etat-islamique-palmyre-daech-stephane-mantoux-5e-corps|date=30 May 2017|work=France-Soir|access-date=10 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170910043934/http://www.francesoir.fr/politique-monde/syrie-les-isis-hunters-ces-soldats-du-regime-de-damas-formes-par-moscou-bachar-al-assad-forces-speciales-russie-syriens-etat-islamique-palmyre-daech-stephane-mantoux-5e-corps|archive-date=10 September 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> Main service carbines were AKS-74U and copies of Belgian FN FAL. The Syrian Army used the Dragunov SVD sniper rifle and derivatives like the Tabuk and PSL. The Army had also modern sniper weapons like the Steyr SSG 69,<ref name="Jon09">Jones, Richard D. ''Jane's Infantry Weapons 2009/2010''. Jane's Information Group; 35 edition (January 27, 2009). {{ISBN|978-0-7106-2869-5}}.</ref> Heckler & Koch G3 and Syrian-made Golan S-01.<ref name="RepG1">{{cite news|title=La 104ème brigade de la Garde républicaine syrienne, troupe d'élite et étendard du régime de Damas|url=http://www.francesoir.fr/politique-monde/la-104eme-brigade-de-la-garde-republicaine-troupe-elite-regime-damas-combats-alep-ghouta-deir-ezzor-bachar-al-assad-issam-zahreddine-etat-islamique-arm%C3%A9e-syrienne-artillerie-druze-daech-forces-speciales|date=20 March 2017|language=fr|work=France-Soir|access-date=4 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171019004114/http://www.francesoir.fr/politique-monde/la-104eme-brigade-de-la-garde-republicaine-troupe-elite-regime-damas-combats-alep-ghouta-deir-ezzor-bachar-al-assad-issam-zahreddine-etat-islamique-arm%C3%A9e-syrienne-artillerie-druze-daech-forces-speciales|archive-date=19 October 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> The most widely used machine guns were RPK, PKM, Type 73,<ref name='Iraq Syria Yemen'>{{cite web |url=http://armamentresearch.com/north-korean-type-73-gpmgs-in-iraq-syria-yemen/ |title=North Korean Type 73 GPMGs in Iraq, Syria & Yemen |website=armamentresearch.com |first=Ali |last=Richter |date=16 March 2016}}</ref> NSV and PKP Pecheneg.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://apps.washingtonpost.com/g/page/national/syrian-army-generals-weapons-request/187|title=Syrian army general's weapons request|newspaper=Washington Post|access-date=8 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171011071831/http://apps.washingtonpost.com/g/page/national/syrian-army-generals-weapons-request/187/|archive-date=11 October 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> Until 2011, the procurement of large numbers of AK-74Ms was planned to replace the AK(M) and other derivatives, the Civil War put a halt to this large scale re-equipment programme.<ref name="orp1"/> Since 2015, Syrian forces had received significant equipment assistance from Russia.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.bellingcat.com/news/mena/2015/02/19/from-russia-with-love-syrias-ak-74ms/ |title=From Russia with Love, Syria's AK-74Ms |date=19 February 2015 |access-date=2017-11-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190206004749/https://www.bellingcat.com/news/mena/2015/02/19/from-russia-with-love-syrias-ak-74ms/ |archive-date=2019-02-06 |url-status=live }}</ref>
===Missile capabilities=== {{Main|List of equipment of the Syrian Army}}
<gallery> File:Fateh-110 missiles and launchers.jpg|Fateh-110 (M-600 or Tishreen) File:Fateh-F missile unveiling (2).jpg|Fateh-313 File:Firing Zelzal 3 missile.jpg|Zelzal-3 File:Naze'at Missile by Tasnimnews 01.jpg|Naze'at File:Shahab-1 Missile by YPA.IR 02 (cropped).jpg|Shahab-1 </gallery>
At the beginning of the 1990s, Syria had one of the largest missile arsenals among the Third World countries, which until then had been replenished exclusively with the 9K52 Luna-M (70 km), OTR-21 Tochka (120 km) and Scud-B (300 km) systems supplied by the USSR.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://missiledefenseadvocacy.org/missile-threat-and-proliferation/todays-missile-threat/syria/ | title=Syria – Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance }}</ref> However, after the collapse of the USSR, a trend towards diversification of missile imports emerged. An agreement was concluded with China on the supply of M-9 (600 km) and M-600 missiles with a range of 250 to 300 kilometers to Syria.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://news.mail.ru/politics/14602767/ |title=Declassified intelligence materials // News@Mail.Ru|accessdate=2013-09-12 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130906015939/http://news.mail.ru/politics/14602767/ |archivedate=2013-09-06 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In 1991 and 1992, two batches of Scud-C or Hwasong-6 missiles (600 km) of North Korean missile program manufacture were delivered to Syria. There were plans to increase the range of Scud missiles by reducing the weight of the warhead and creating solid-fuel medium-range missiles from foreign components. According to some reports, financial support for the creation of the missile-building base was provided by Iran.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://svr.gov.ru/material/2-13-13.htm |title=A New Challenge after the Cold War: the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction (Open SVR Report for 1993) |accessdate=2013-09-04 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130726065428/http://svr.gov.ru/material/2-13-13.htm |archivedate=2013-07-26 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
{| class="wikitable" |+ Table of basic data on missiles and their quantities at the beginning of the 2020s<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.waronline.org/mideast/syria_wmd.htm |title=Неконвенциональное оружие Сирии<!-- The title was added by a bot --> |accessdate=2013-09-21 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120706060514/http://www.waronline.org/mideast/syria_wmd.htm |archivedate=2012-07-06 |url-status=dead }}</ref> ! Name !! Range (km)!! Warhead mass (kg)!! Number !! Type/CEP |- | 9K52 Luna-M || 65 ||420 || 700 ||Artillery rocket<br>500 m |- | SS-1C Scud-В<br>Hwasong-5 || 300 || 1000 || 900+ || SRBM<br>450 m |- | SS-1D Scud-C<br>Hwasong-6<br>Golan-1 || 600 || 770|| 2000 || SRBM<br>700 m |- | SS-1E Scud-D<br>Hwasong-7 || 700–1000 ||650–1200 || N/A || MRBM<br>250–500 m |- |Golan-2 ||850 ||650–1200 || N/A || SRBM<br>250–500 m |- |Scud-ER<br>Hwasong-9||800–1000 || 450–500 || N/A || MRBM<br>3000 m |- | SS-21 Scarab<br>OTR-21 Tochka || 70–120 || 420 || N/A || SRBM<br>95–150 m |- |Fateh-110<br>Tishreen (M-600) || 300 || 500 || N/A ||SRBM<br>100 m |- |Fateh-313 || 500 || 380 || N/A ||SRBM<br>2 m |- |Fath 360 || 30–120 || 150 || N/A ||TBM<br>30 m |- |Shahab-1 || 350 || 1000 || N/A ||SRBM<br>450 m |- |Shahab-2 || 500 || 770 || N/A ||SRBM<br>500 m |- |Zelzal-1 || 160 || 600 || N/A ||SRBM<br>400 m |- |Zelzal-2 || 210 or 400+ || 600 || N/A ||SRBM<br>350 m |- |Maysaloun || 130–600 || 600 ||N/A ||SRBM<br>300 m |- |Zelzal-3 || 250–400 || 600 || N/A ||SRBM<br>300 m |- |Naze'at || 100–160 || 500 || N/A ||Rocket artillery<br>500 m |}
=== Ranks === {| style="border:1px solid #8888aa; background-color:#f7f8ff; padding:5px; font-size:95%; margin: 0px 12px 12px 0px; text-align:center;" {{Ranks and Insignia of Non NATO Armed Forces/OF/Blank}} |- bgcolor=#ececec | '''Rank''' | colspan=2| {{lang|ar|فريق}} | colspan=2| {{lang|ar|عماد أول}} | colspan=2| {{lang|ar|عماد}} | colspan=2| {{lang|ar|لواء}} | colspan=2| {{lang|ar|عميد}} | colspan=2| {{lang|ar|عقيد}} | colspan=2| {{lang|ar|مقدم}} | colspan=2| {{lang|ar|رائد}} | colspan=2| {{lang|ar|نقيب}} | colspan=3| {{lang|ar|ملازم أول}} | colspan=3| {{lang|ar|ملازم}} |- bgcolor=#ececec | '''Romanization''' | colspan=2| {{lang|ar-Latn|Fariq}} | colspan=2| {{lang|ar-Latn|Eimad 'awal}} | colspan=2| {{lang|ar-Latn|Eimad}} | colspan=2| {{lang|ar-Latn|Alliwa'}} | colspan=2| {{lang|ar-Latn|Amid}} | colspan=2| {{lang|ar-Latn|Aqid}} | colspan=2| {{lang|ar-Latn|Muqaddam}} | colspan=2| {{lang|ar-Latn|Ra'id}} | colspan=2| {{lang|ar-Latn|Naqib}} | colspan=3| {{lang|ar-Latn|Mulazim awwal}} | colspan=3| {{lang|ar-Latn|Mulazim}} |- | '''Army combat uniform'''<ref name="socialmedia">{{cite web |url=https://x.com/QUSAY_NOOR_/status/1949134632949064079 |title=The Syrian Ministry of Defense delegation participating in the IDEF 2025 defense industry exhibition in Turkey |website=X (formerly Twitter) |date=2025-08-01 |access-date=2025-08-02}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://sana.sy/en/?p=360943 |title=Damascus Airport welcomes pilgrims from Syrian Ministry of Defense wounded personnel|website=SANA |date=2025-08-05 |access-date=2025-08-11}}</ref> | colspan=2| 50px | colspan=2| 50px | colspan=2| 50px | colspan=2| 50px | colspan=2| 50px | colspan=2| 50px | colspan=2| 50px | colspan=2| 50px | colspan=2| 50px | colspan=3| 50px | colspan=3| 50px |- | '''Army full dress uniform'''<ref>{{cite web |url=https://x.com/MiddleEast_24/status/1950952657625010289 |title=Syrian Defence Minister meets Russian Defence Minister Andrey Belousov |website=X (formerly Twitter) |date=2025-08-07 |access-date=2025-08-11}}</ref> | colspan=2| 50px | colspan=2| 50px | colspan=2| 50px | colspan=2| 50px | colspan=2| 50px | colspan=2| 50px | colspan=2| 50px | colspan=2| 50px | colspan=2| 50px | colspan=3| 50px | colspan=3| 50px |- | '''Army service dress uniform'''<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-sgR1RLieE |title=Minister of Defence Murhaf Abu Qasra visits wounded soldiers in Sweida |website=YouTube |publisher=Syrian Ministry of Defence |date=2025-08-03 |access-date=2025-08-11}}</ref> | colspan=2| 50px | colspan=2| 50px | colspan=2| 50px | colspan=2| 50px | colspan=2| 50px | colspan=2| 50px | colspan=2| 50px | colspan=2| 50px | colspan=2| 50px | colspan=3| 50px | colspan=3| 50px {{Ranks and Insignia of Non NATO Armed Forces/OF/Blank}} |} The rank insignia of non-commissioned officers and enlisted personnel.<ref name=LOC1987 /> {| style="border:1px solid #8888aa; background-color:#f7f8ff; padding:5px; font-size:95%; margin: 0px 12px 12px 0px;" {{Ranks and Insignia of Non NATO Armies/OR/Blank}} {{Ranks and Insignia of Non NATO Armies/OR/Syria}} |}
=== Awards === Although some twenty-five orders and medals were authorized, generally only senior officers and warrant officers wore medal ribbons. The following are some important Syrian awards: Order of Umayyad, Medal of Military Honor, the War Medal, Medal for Courage, Yarmuk Medal, Wounded in Action Medal, and Medal of 8 March 1963.<ref name=LOC1987 /> The status of these awards are currently unknown.
==Chief of the General Staff of the Army== {{main|Chief of the General Staff (Syria)}}
The Chief of the General Staff of the Army and Armed Forces ({{langx|ar|رئيس هيئة الأركان العامة للجيش والقوات المسلحة|Rayiys hayyat al'arkan aleamat liljaysh walquaat almusalaha}}) is the professional head of the Syrian Armed Forces and the Syrian Army. The Chief of the General Staff and his Deputy are appointed by the President of Syria, who is the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces.<ref>{{Cite journal|author1=O. Peri |author2=H. Varulkar|date=23 September 2019|title=Struggle Between Russia, Iran For Control Over Syria's Centers Of Power|url=https://www.memri.org/reports/struggle-between-russia-iran-control-over-syrias-centers-power|journal=Iran, Russia, Syria Inquiry & Analysis Series|volume=1475}}</ref> As of 2026, the Chief of the General Staff is Major General Ali Noureddine al-Naasan, appointed by President Ahmed al-Sharaa on 21 December 2024.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-12-22 |title=القيادة السورية الجديدة تعيّن رئيساً لأركان الجيش استعداداً لبنائه {{!}} وكالة ستيب الإخبارية |url=https://stepagency-sy.net/2024/12/22/%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%82%D9%8A%D8%A7%D8%AF%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D9%88%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AC%D8%AF%D9%8A%D8%AF%D8%A9-%D8%AA%D8%B9%D9%8A%D9%91%D9%86-%D8%B1%D8%A6%D9%8A%D8%B3%D8%A7%D9%8B/ |access-date= |website=Step News |language=ar}}</ref>
== Notes == {{notelist}}
== References == {{Reflist|2}} * {{cite book|last=Sinai |first=Joshua |editor-first=Thomas |editor-last=Collelo |url=https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/master/frd/frdcstdy/sy/syriacountrystud00coll_0/syriacountrystud00coll_0_djvu.txt |title=A Country Study, Syria|publisher=Federal Research Division, Library of Congress|year=1987|access-date=3 March 2023}}
== Further reading == * Richard M. Bennett, [http://www.meforum.org/meib/articles/0108_s1.htm The Syrian Military: A Primer], Middle East Intelligence Bulletin, August/September 2001. *{{cite book|first=Tom|last=Cooper|title=Syrian Conflagration: The Civil War 2011-2013|series=Middle East@War Volume 1|publisher=Helion & Co.|isbn=978-1-910294-10-9|year=2015}}[https://www.amazon.com/Syrian-Conflagration-Civil-2011-2013-Middle/dp/1910294101] * Joseph Holliday, 'The Assad Regime: From Counterinsurgency to Civil War,' Institute for the Study of War, March 2013. The best concise description and analysis of the Syrian Army and its involvement in the current Syrian Civil War until Cooper 2015. * {{cite journal|ref={{harvid|IISS|2019}}|title=The Military Balance 2019|year=2019|publisher=Routledge|place=London|issn=1479-9022|author=International Institute for Strategic Studies|journal=Military Balance|doi=10.1080/04597222.2018.1561033|s2cid=219628874}} * {{cite book |ref={{harvid|IISS|2011}} |last1=International Institute for Strategic Studies |title=The Military Balance 2011 |date=2011 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-85743-606-8 |pages=311–312 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Pu-pcQAACAAJ |language=en |author1-link=International Institute for Strategic Studies}} * {{Cite book |ref={{harvid|IISS|2010}} |last1=International Institute for Strategic Studies |title=The Military Balance 2010 |year=2010 |publisher=Routledge / IISS |isbn=978-1857435573 |location=London, United Kingdom}} * {{cite book|first=Kenneth M.|last=Pollack|title=Arabs at War: Military Effectiveness 1948–91|publisher=University of Nebraska Press|place=Lincoln and London|date=2002}} Reviewed in Brooks, Risa A. "Making Military Might: Why Do States Fail and Succeed? A Review Essay." ''International Security'' 28, no. 2 (Fall 2003): 149–191. * Department of the Army, Area Handbook for Syria, Washington, For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Govt. Print. Off., 1965, "Department of the Army pamphlet no. 550-47." Revision of the 1958 edition. * Pesach Melovany, ''Out of the North an Evil shall break forth'', Tel-Aviv: Contento de Semrik, 2014. * Hicham Bou Nassif, 'Second Class: the Grievances of Sunni Officers in the Syrian Armed Forces' * ''History of the Syrian Arab Army: Prussianization of the Arab Army, the Arab Revolt of 1916–1918, and the cult of nationalization of Arabs in the Levant after World War I'', Infantry Magazine, Nov-Dec 2005. * General Mustafa Tlas (ed.), History of the Syrian Arab Army/Al-Tareekh Al-Jaish Al-Arabi Al-Soori, Volume 1: 1901–1948, Center for Military Studies. Damascus, 2000. Volume 1 is 568 pages long and covers the Arab Revolt, the short-lived monarchy under King Feisal bin Hussein, the French Mandate, the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and finally Syrian independence in 1949.
== External links == {{Commons category|Syrian Army}} <!--*Tom Cooper, {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20041119111958/http://www.acig.org/artman/publish/article_279.shtml Syrian Tank-Hunters in Lebanon, 1982]}}, Air Combat Information Group --> * [http://en.abna24.com/service/video/archive/2016/05/10/753279/story.html Video: ISIS secret sniper precisely targeted with Syrian Army's missile] * Gregory Waters [https://www.mei.edu/publications/lion-and-eagle-syrian-arab-armys-destruction-and-rebirth The Lion and The Eagle: The Syrian Arab Army's Destruction and Rebirth], July 18, 2019
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