Center S (Центр С in

Cyrillic script The Cyrillic script ( ), Slavonic script or the Slavic script, is a writing system used for various languages across Eurasia. It is the designated national script in various Slavic languages, Slavic, Turkic languages, Turkic, Mongolic languages, ...

) was a secret, joint, Russian–Syrian

signals intelligence Signals intelligence (SIGINT) is intelligence-gathering by interception of ''signals'', whether communications between people (communications intelligence—abbreviated to COMINT) or from electronic signals not directly used in communication ( ...

'spy' post near al-Harra in southwestern

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

close to the Israeli-occupied

Golan Heights The Golan Heights ( ar, هَضْبَةُ الْجَوْلَانِ, Haḍbatu l-Jawlān or ; he, רמת הגולן, ), or simply the Golan, is a region in the Levant spanning about . The region defined as the Golan Heights differs between di ...

. Presumably existing since before 2006, it was over-run by

Free Syrian Army The Free Syrian Army (FSA) ( ar, الجيش السوري الحر, al-jaysh as-Sūrī al-ḥur) is a loose faction in the Syrian Civil War founded on 29 July 2011 by officers of the Syrian Armed Forces with the goal of bringing down the governm ...

rebels on 5 October 2014 during the Daraa offensive (October 2014). It was recaptured by SAA during the

2018 Southern Syria offensive The 2018 Southern Syria offensive, code-named Operation Basalt ( ar, عملية البازلت), was a military operation launched by the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and its allies against the rebels and ISIL in Southern Syria. The fighting began with ...

Site and purpose

The Center was on the peak of Tel al-Hara mountain, adjacent to the town of al-Harra in the western part of the

al-Sanamayn District Al-Sanamayn District ( ar , منطقة الصنمين) is a Districts of Syria, district (mantiqah) in Daraa Governorate, Syria. According to the census of 2004, it had 167,993 inhabitants. Its capital city, administrative center is the village of ...

of the

Daraa Governorate Daraa Governorate ( ar, مُحافظة درعا / ALA-LC: ') is one of the fourteen governorates (provinces) of Syria. It is situated in the south-west of the country and covers an area of 3,730 km2. It is bordered by Jordan to the south, Qune ...

, near the

Quneitra Governorate Quneitra Governorate ( ar, مُحافظة القنيطرة / ALA-LC: ''Muḥāfaẓat Al-Qunayṭrah'') is one of the fourteen governorates (provinces) of Syria. It is situated in southern Syria, notable for the location of the Golan Heights. The ...

. The Center was operated on a joint Russian-Syrian basis, with Syrian Intelligence and the OSNAZ unit of the Russian GRU monitoring signals intelligence from Syrian rebels, as well as the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the Israel, State of Israel. It consists of three servic ...

Overrun and recapture

On October 5, 2014 the Center was overrun by rebels affiliated with the

in the Daraa offensive. All Russian personnel had been evacuated, along with the more sensitive equipment. Center S was recaptured by SAA during the

Other centers

At least two other Russian intelligence centers are assumed to be located inside Syria.

References

Signals intelligence Russian intelligence agencies Russia–Syria relations Military installations of Russia in Syria {{Syria-geo-stub

Site and purpose

Overrun and recapture

Other centers

See also

References