Revolutionary Commando Army

Revolutionary Commando Army
جيش مغاوير الثورة Jaysh Maghawir al-Thawra Participant in Syrian Civil War
Former logo of the New Syrian Army, which was identical to the logo of the former Division 30
Active	20 May 2015[1] – December 2016 (as the New Syrian Army) December 2016 – present (as the Revolutionary Commando Army)
Groups	Ghosts of the Desert[2]
Leaders	Lieutenant colonel Muthanna Tala[1] Captain Abdullah al-Zoubi[3] (since December 2016) Bara Fares[4] (media spokesperson) Khazal al-Sarhan[5] (until December 2016) Mozahem al-Saloum[6] (spokesperson, former)
Headquarters	An-Tanf
Area of operations	Homs Governorate, Rif Dimashq Governorate, and Deir ez-Zor Governorate, Syria Anbar Governorate, Iraq
Size	120 (2015)[1] 300 (2016)[7][8]
Part of	Free Syrian Army[9]
Originated as	Allahu Akbar Brigade (Authenticity and Development Front)
Allies	Southern Front[10] Lions of the East Army[11] Forces of Martyr Ahmad al-Abdo Badia Forces[12][13] Al-Qaratayn Martyrs Brigade Army of Free Tribes United States[10] Jordan[10]
Opponents	Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant[14] Syrian Armed Forces
Battles and wars	Syrian Civil War 2016 Abu Kamal offensive Syrian Desert campaign (December 2016–April 2017) Syrian Desert offensive (May 2017–present) American-led intervention in Syria

The Revolutionary Commando Army (Arabic: جيش مغاوير الثورة‎‎; Jaysh Maghawir al-Thawra), previously called the New Syrian Army (Arabic: جيش سوريا الجديد‎‎, Jaysh Suriyah al-Jadid,^[14] abbreviated NSA or NSyA),^[15] is a Syrian rebel group consisting of Syrian Arab Army defectors and other rebels established during the Syrian Civil War. Founded on 20 May 2015, the group sought to expel the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant from eastern Syria. They claimed to have received training and advanced weaponry from the Authenticity and Development Front and the CIA in Jordan.^[16] In December 2016, the New Syrian Army dissolved and the remnants of the group formed the Revolutionary Commando Army.^[17]

Operational history

As the New Syrian Army

The New Syrian Army was established by remnants of the Allahu Akbar Brigade, part of the Authenticity and Development Front and formerly based in Abu Kamal.^[18][19] The NSA was formed on 20 May 2015 and its fighters were trained in Jordan.^[1]

On 16 November 2015, the New Syrian Army was deployed at al-Tanf in southeastern Syria, near Iraq and Jordan, and carried out a raid, with or without US aerial support. No further information was given.^[20]

On 5 March 2016, the NSA and another FSA group, the Forces of Martyr Ahmad al-Abdo, captured the al-Tanf border crossing from ISIL in a cross-border raid from Jordan.^[21]

In May 2016, an Islamic State suicide attack strike a NSA base near al-Tanf, which resulted in a large number of casualties. The attack brought to the surface underlying tensions and a lack of morale within the group, whose members alleged that the US failed to provide them with the equipment promised.^[9]

In June 2016, the NSA's base near al-Tanf was hit by multiple cluster bombs from Russian airstrikes, killing 2 and injuring 18.^[22] Russia denied responsibility for the airstrike, although photos released by the NSA identified the bombs as Russian RBK-500 cluster bombs which were delivered from Khmeimim Air Base in Latakia.^[23]

Later in June, the group launched an offensive against ISIL in Abu Kamal. The offensive was repelled by ISIL.^[24]

On 3 August 2016, the New Syrian Army was expelled from the Authenticity and Development Front.^[25]

Ghosts of the Desert

The Ghosts of the Desert is a NSA-affiliated anti-ISIL insurgent group that covertly operates in ISIL-held towns in southeastern Syria and southwestern Iraq such as Abu Kamal, Mayadin, and al-Qaim. Since March 2016 they initially sprayed graffiti and raised Syrian and Iraqi flags in the towns, but began to conduct covert military activities the next month, such as sabotage, assassinations of ISIL fighters, and marking positions for airstrikes. The group supplied military intelligence to the US Air Force that allowed them to kill Abu Waheeb in May 2016 in the Iraqi town of Rutbah after the group marked his location.^[2]

As the Revolutionary Commando Army

Members of the Revolutionary Commando Army and a US Army soldier repair a water well in an-Tanf.

In December 2016, the New Syrian Army dissolved after internal disputes. Some of its remnants regrouped under the name of the Revolutionary Commando Army, led by Captain Abdullah al-Zoubi.^[3]

On 30 April, the Revolutionary Commando Army launched an offensive into eastern Syria, reaching the Deir ez-Zor Governorate and capturing the village of Humaymah, south of the T2 pumping station.^[26][27] Two days later, the rebels attacked and captured several sites in the region, including: Tarwazeh al-Wa`er, Sereit al-Wa`er, Mount Ghrab, Swab desert, al-Kamm Swab, the T3 Pumping Station, Me`izeileh and Tarwazeh al-Attshaneh.^[28] On 6 May, FSA groups including the RCA captured several sites in the Badiya region of Homs Governorate to the south of Palmyra including Dahlouz and al-Halbeh areas.^[29] The RCA was supplied with IAG Guardian armoured personnel carriers by the US during the operation.^[30]

See also

• List of armed groups in the Syrian Civil War
• New Syrian Forces - Another Syrian paramilitary group trained and equipped by the United States-led Coalition.
• The White Shroud

References