The Syrian Army, officially the Syrian Arab Army, is the land force branch of the Syrian Armed Forces. It is the dominant military service of the four uniformed services, controlling the most senior posts in the armed forces, and has the greatest manpower, approximately 80 percent of the combined services. The Syrian Army originated in local military forces formed by the French after World War I, after France obtained a mandate over the region. It officially came into being in 1945, before Syria obtained full independence the following year.
Allied forces are escorted by Circassian cavalry of the Troupes spéciales (1941).
Syrian anti-tank teams deployed French-made MILAN ATGMs during the war in Lebanon in 1982.
A Syrian colonel during the First Gulf War.
Syrian Army soldiers during the siege of Nubl and al-Zahraa
The Syrian Arab Armed Forces are the military forces of the Syrian Arab Republic. They consist of the Syrian Army, Syrian Air Force, Syrian Navy, Syrian Air Defense Force, and paramilitary forces, such as the National Defence Forces. According to the Constitution of Syria, the President of Syria is the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. Minister of Defense holds the position of Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Armed Forces.
A Syrian soldier manning a checkpoint near Damascus.
Bashar al-Assad (centre) alongside Syrian Defence Minister General Mustafa Tlass (right) and Military Chief of Staff Hasan Turkmani (left), both Ba'athist leaders. Military-Ba'ath party nexus constructed by Hafez al-Assad constitute the backbone of Assad government's support base.
A Syrian soldier aims a Type 56 assault rifle from his position in a foxhole during Operation Desert Shield. The soldier is wearing a Soviet-made Model ShMS nuclear-biological-chemical warfare mask.
Female Syrian soldiers with an MTs-116M rifle in Jobar, December 2015.
