The Syrian Special Mission Forces ( ar, وحدة المهام الخاصة) are a

Quick reaction force In military science nomenclature, a quick reaction force (QRF) is an armed military unit capable of rapidly responding to developing situations, typically to assist allied units in need of such assistance. They are to have equipment ready to re ...

of the

Ministry of Interior An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministry ...

. They are tasked with defending against

terrorist Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...

attacks on government-controlled parts of Aleppo and Damascus, and other

urban Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to: * Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas * Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities Urban may also refer to: General * Urban (name), a list of people ...

settings.

Equipment

The unit has received self-defence training and military-grade weapons from Russia. The unit is comparable to the Russian

ODON Odon may refer to: ;People * Odon Bacqué, American politician and non-fiction writer * Odon of Greater Poland, duke of Greater Poland * Odon de Pins, Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller * Jorge Odón, Argentine mechanic and inventor ;Pla ...

. The SSMF uses Russian-suppiled

AK-103 The AK-103 is a Russian assault rifle designed by small arms designer Mikhail Kalashnikov. History The AK-103 was officially offered for export in March 1993 Design details It is an AK-100 derivative of the AK-74M that is chambered for t ...

and

AK-104 The AK-104 is a carbine variant of the AK-103. It's chambered to fire 7.62×39mm ammunition and thusly feeds from any standard 7.62x39 AK pattern magazine. Design The AK-104 is a 314mm (12.4in) barreled carbine in the AK-100 series of rifles, ...

as the main service rifles, the former main rifles were the

AK-47 The AK-47, officially known as the ''Avtomat Kalashnikova'' (; also known as the Kalashnikov or just AK), is a gas-operated assault rifle that is chambered for the 7.62×39mm cartridge. Developed in the Soviet Union by Russian small-arms d ...

and most likely, the

AKM The AKM () is an assault rifle designed by Soviet small arms designer Mikhail Kalashnikov in 1959. It is the most ubiquitous rifle of the Kalashnikov rifles. It was developed as a replacement to the AK-47 introduced a decade prior. Introduc ...

as well. According to

Al-Masdar News ''Al-Masdar News'' (sometimes abbreviated ''AMN'') ( ar, المصدر نيوز) is an online newspaper founded by Leith Abou Fadel. Al-Masdar is Arabic for "the source". ''Al-Masdar''s coverage focuses largely on conflict zones in the Middle E ...

, the Special Mission Forces are mainly, although not exclusively, intended for urban security actions, as well as carrying out force protection and security operations against terrorist activities.

Battles

They are noted to have performed well in thwarting attacks by terrorists in the western suburbs and Old City of Aleppo and foiling random attacks by terrorists in the Old City and western suburbs. Not limited to city defense, the Syrian Special Mission Forces have attacked behind enemy lines during the Syrian Army’s East Ghouta offensive. They are more experienced than the

National Defence Forces The National Defence Forces (NDF) ( ar, قوات الدفاع الوطني ''Quwāt ad-Difāʿ al-Watanī'') is a pro-government militia, that was formed on 1 November 2012 and organized by the Syrian government during the Syrian Civil War as a ...

in that many are experienced military officers, some with experience in the Syrian Special Forces. It is anticipated that after the war is over and the conflict in the area dissipates, they will help contribute in the rebuilding of Syria.Newly formed Syrian Special Mission Forces prove effective against jihadist groups, al-Masdar News, 01-05-17
/ref>

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Syrian Special Mission Forces Pro-government factions of the Syrian civil war Non-military counterinsurgency organizations 2014 establishments in Syria Law enforcement in Syria Special forces of Syria

Equipment

Battles

See also

Notes