Active 23 April 2016–present Area of operations Aleppo Governorate | ||
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Groups Hamza BrigadeDhi Qar BrigadeNorthern Thunder BrigadeSamarkand BrigadeMare' Resistance BrigadeSpecial Operations BrigadeFirst BrigadeFifth BrigadeBrigade 51Ahrar Souriya Brigade (former) Leaders Abu Yasser al-Sheikh †Lt. Saif Abu BakrAbu Jalal Headquarters Mare, Aleppo Governorate Allies Turkey United States Al-Moutasem Brigade Liwa Ahfad Saladin Sultan Murad DivisionLevant Front Battles and wars Syrian civil war, Turkish military intervention in Syria, Northern al-Bab offensive, Battle of al-Bab | ||
The Hamza Division is a Syrian rebel group affiliated with the Free Syrian Army, and trained and equipped by the United States and Turkey as part of the Syrian Train and Equip Program in northwestern Syria.
History
On 23 April 2016, 5 FSA groups based in the town of Mare' in the northern Aleppo Governorate countryside, the Hamza Brigade, the Dhi Qar Brigade, the Northern Thunder Brigade, the Mare Resistance Brigade, and the Special Operations Brigade merged into the Hamza Division due to the "interests of unity" with the intention to fight the "crime and terror" of ISIL and the Syrian government. Under the command of Syrian Army defector Lt. Saif Abu Bakr, the factions receive military support from the international coalition against ISIL. Dhi Qa Brigade were a member of Division 99 along with Liwa Ahfad Saladin.
In June 2016, the Northern Thunder Brigade received BGM-71 TOW missiles from the coalition. Also that month, a Syrian Turkmen group called the "Samarkand Brigade", named after the city in Uzbekistan, joined the Hamza Division.
During the Turkish military intervention in the Syrian Civil War in late August, the Hamza Division is one of the first FSA groups to enter Jarabulus from Karkamış and captured the city. Saif Abu Bakr was among the ones who followed behind Turkish tanks and troops and entered Jarabulus in the morning during the first day of the operation, reaching the city center by afternoon. He later gave a speech to the civilians of Jarabulus.
On 18 October 2016, the Northern Thunder Brigade issued an ultimatum to the YPG and the Army of Revolutionaries, warning them to leave Tell Rifaat within 48 hours after which they will attack the town.