File image.
The Syrian Arab Army (SAA) 25th Special Mission Forces Division, mostly known by their former name Tiger Forces, has dispatched several of its units to the country’s northern region, joining another elite formation that was deployed there earlier this week.
Photos and video footage that surfaced online on June 21 showed commando units as well as a number of multiple rocket launchers of the division near an unspecified front in the northern countryside of Aleppo.
The 25th Special Mission Forces Division, which is trained and armed by the Russian military, is thought to be one of the SAA’s most capable offensive formations.
The division’s commando and artillery units were likely deployed in the northern Aleppo countryside to support the heavily-armed Republican Guard’s 105th Mechanized Brigade, which arrived in the region on June 19.
The Syrian military buildup in the northern Aleppo countryside began after a confrontation between the Turkish military and the SDF.
Last week, the Turkish military and its proxies launched a series of artillery and drone strikes in the northern Aleppo countryside. The strikes claimed the lives of 21 people, including fighters of the group, Syrian soldiers and at least one civilian.
The SDF responded by shelling Turkish-occupied areas in the northern Aleppo countryside as well as the Oncupinar region in southern Turkey. No fatalities were reported, however.
By deploying its elite units in the northern Aleppo countryside, Syria is likely trying to deter both the Turkish military and the SDF in order to de-escalate tensions in the region. Neither a Syrian or Turkish military operation is likely to take place in the region any time soon, especially that Damascus and Ankara are yet to reach a normalization agreement.
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