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Active 24 February 2016 – present Groups Levant Front (Hama)
46th Division
312th Division
9th Brigade
Companies of Righteousness Leaders Mohammed al-Ghabi (DOW)
Alaa Abdel Hay al-Ahmad
Raed al-Elewi
Mohammed Ahmed al-Sayed (artillery regiment and overall commander since January 2017)
Zakaria al-Ahmad (media office director) Headquarters Kafr Nabl, Idlib Governorate, Syria Area of operations Aleppo Governorate
Idlib Governorate
Hama Governorate
Latakia Governorate Strength 3,000 (self-claim, 2017) | ||
The Elite Army (Arabic: جيش النخبة: Jaysh al-Nukhba), formerly called the Liberation Army (Arabic: جيش التحرير: Jaysh al-Tahrir), is a Free Syrian Army group operating in the Hama and Aleppo Governorates. The group composed of 5 units, some of which have received BGM-71 TOW missiles from the United States.
History
In July 2016 the al-Nusra Front raided Jaysh al-Tahrir's headquarters in Kafr Nabl and captured 40 fighters, including the group's commander, Mohammed al-Ghabi. They also seized a number of weapons.
The group participated in the Turkish military intervention in Syria which began with the capture of Jarabulus. Jaysh al-Tahrir fighters captured the village of Amarnah from the Syrian Democratic Forces and took more than 8 SDF fighters captive. Since October 2016, Jaysh al-Tahrir operates a prisoner-of-war camp in the northern Aleppo Governorate, which holds around 300 prisoners of war from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, implementing Sharia and capital punishment. On 15 October, Mohammed al-Ghabi was severely injured by an ISIL car bombs and died 20 days later. A new commander was named on 10 November.
On 7 January 2017, the Liberation Army announced that it has changed its name to the Elite Army and a new commander was appointed.