Northern Division (Syrian rebel group)

Northern Division
الفرقة الشمالية Participant in the Syrian Civil War
Flag of the Northern Division
Active	December 2015–present
Groups	101st Infantry Division 1st Tank Brigade 3rd Tank Brigade 5th Infantry Brigade 7th Special Forces Brigade 9th Infantry Brigade Special Missions Battalion Knights of Justice Brigade
Leaders	Col. Hassan Miri’I Hamadeh Cmdr. Mamoun al-Omar
Area of operations	Hama Governorate Idlib Governorate Aleppo Governorate
Strength	3,200
Part of	Free Syrian Army Syrian Revolutionary Command Council Fatah Halab Jaysh Halab Mare' Operations Room Hawar Kilis Operations Room Rad al-Mazalem
Allies	Mountain Hawks Brigade 13th Division Islamic Front
Opponents	Syrian Armed Forces National Defence Forces Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant Syrian Democratic Forces People's Protection Units
Battles and wars	Syrian Civil War Aleppo offensive (April 2016) Northern Aleppo offensive (March-April 2016)

The Northern Division (Arabic: الفرقة الشمالية‎) is a Free Syrian Army group as the result of a merger between the Knights of Justice Brigade and the 101st Infantry Division. Both units received BGM-71 TOW missiles from the United States.

Member groups

101st Infantry Division

Flag of the 101st Infantry Division.

The 101st Infantry Division (Arabic: الفرقة 101 مشاة‎‎) is a Syrian FSA group sanctioned by the Syrian National Council and a part of the Syrian Revolutionary Command Council. It received U.S.-made BGM-71 TOW anti-tank missiles and is funded by the Supreme Military Council. It notably includes religious minorities in leadership positions.

The 101st Infantry Division suspended its cooperation with the al-Qaeda affiliated al-Nusra Front on 21 July 2014. On 7 September 2014, 101st Division allied with four other rebel groups, including the Knights of Justice Brigade, into a new formation called the 5th Corps. On 6th May 2015, along with 13 other Aleppo-based groups, joined the Fatah Halab joint operations room.

Knights of Justice Brigade

Flag of the Knights of Justice Brigade.

The Knights of Justice Brigade (Arabic: لواء فرسان الحق‎‎, Liwa Fursan al-Haqq), is a FSA subgroup sanctioned by the SNC and a part of the SRCC. It had received BGM-71 TOW missiles and funding from Qatar. The group received funding, including salaries for its fighters, from the CIA, before being cutoff in December 2014 following battlefield reversals at the hands of the al-Nusra Front.

The Brigade joined a "quick response unit" of 600 fighters alongside other moderate and jihadist groups on 8 July 2014, to fight the Syrian Army and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in Aleppo. It suspended its cooperation the al-Nusra Front on 21 July 2014. On 7 September 2014, the Knights of Justice Brigade announced that they were allying their forces with four other rebel groups, including the 101st Division and the 13th Division, into the 5th Corps.

Equipment

Small arms

Name	Country of origin	Type	Caliber	Notes
AK-47	Soviet Union	Assault rifle	7.62×39mm
Type 56 assault rifle	People's Republic of China	Assault rifle	7.62×39mm
Zastava M70	Yugoslavia	Assault rifle	7.62×39mm
PK machine gun	Soviet Union	General-purpose machine gun	7.62×54mmR
DShK	Soviet Union	Heavy machine gun	12.7×108mm
Milkor MGL	South Africa	Grenade launcher	40 mm grenade
M79 Osa	Yugoslavia	Anti-tank missile	90mm

Artillery and heavy missiles

Name	Country of origin	Type	Caliber	Notes
120-PM-43 mortar	Soviet Union	Mortar	120mm
122 mm howitzer M1938 (M-30)	Soviet Union	Howitzer	122mm
122 mm howitzer 2A18 (D-30)	Soviet Union	Howitzer	122mm
152 mm howitzer M1943 (D-1)	Soviet Union	Howitzer	152mm
BGM-71 TOW	United States	Wire-guided anti-tank missile		Supplied by the United States.

Vehicles

Name	Country of origin	Type	Notes
Pickup truck	Unknown	Technical
T-54/55	Soviet Union	Main battle tank
BMP-1	Soviet Union	Infantry fighting vehicle

External links

• Northern Division Youtube channel

• https://www.facebook.com/rd.almzalm/