1st Coastal Division | |
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الفرقة الأولى الساحلية | |
File:Emblem of the 1st Coastal Division.svg
Official logo of the 1st Coastal Division
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Leaders | |
Active regions | Idlib Governorate Latakia Governorate[1] |
Part of | Free Syrian Army[1] |
Allies | Ahrar ash-Sham Turkistan Islamic Party ![]() |
Opponents | ![]() National Defense Force |
Battles and wars | Syrian Civil War |
The 1st Coastal Division (formerly known as the Brigade of the Chargers)[3] is a Syrian rebel group that is affiliated with the Free Syrian Army and has been vetted by the Friends of Syria Group. It received TOW missiles and operates in the Idlib and northern Latakia governorates. The group received training and funding from Qatar. It is a former member of the Ahfad al-Rasul Brigade.[1]
The group participated in the Al-Anfal Offensive[1] and the 2015 Jisr al-Shughur offensive with a wide array of Syrian opposition forces.[4] As part of this operation, the group briefly captured the Mediterranean town of Kasab,[5] acquiring their name.
1st Coastal Division is famous for including Free Syrian Army war hero Abo Hamza who became notable on social media for his many skillful BGM-71 TOW missile shots.[6]
In October 2015 the 1st Coastal Division's chief of staff, Captain Basil Zamo, was killed in a Russian airstrike on Jabal al-Akrad, Latakia.[2]
In April 2016, the group together with Ahrar al-Sham, Al-Nusra Front, and the Turkistan Islamic Party attacked Syrian government positions in northeastern Latakia Governorate, capturing the villages of Nakshaba, Al-Bayyada and 50% of Jabal Qamou'.[7]
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