Revolutionary Commando 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.[23][24] 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.[25]

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.[26]

In May 2016, an Islamic State suicide attack struck an 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.[12]

In June 2016, the NSA's base near al-Tanf was hit by multiple cluster bombs from Russian airstrikes, killing 2 and injuring 18.[27] 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.[28]

Later in June, the group launched an offensive against ISIL in Abu Kamal. The offensive was repelled by ISIL.[29]

On 3 August 2016, the New Syrian Army was expelled from the Authenticity and Development Front.[30]

The Ghosts of the Desert was an NSA-affiliated anti-ISIL insurgent group that covertly operated 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.[7]

Members of the Revolutionary Commando Army and a US Army soldier repair a water well in Al-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.[2]

On 30 April 2017, 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.[31][32] 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.[33] 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.[34] The RCA was supplied with IAG Guardian armoured personnel carriers by the US during the operation.[35]

In late November 2017, at least 180 fighters in the Revolutionary Commando Army were relieved of duty. According to the United States Central Command, the fighters "completed their military service", while according to the group's spokesman, they were removed due to their "weak performance". As result, between 40 and 60 fighters were left in the group.[4] The unit increased in numbers after that point, with c. 300 fighters serving with the Revolutionary Commando Army by October 2018.[11]