On May 24, 2023, the Al-Hadath media stated that, according to American sources, the Golan File Unit operatives are training at a military base in Ad Dumayr (approximately 40 kilometers northeast of Damascus), reportedly near the Ble airstrip. The training is intended to prepare participants for operations against American forces in eastern Syria. Among other things, the training involves tank and medium weapon operation (See link to Al-Hadath’s original story).
The Golan File Unit, which operates under Hezbollah in southern Syria near the Israeli border, collects intelligence and carries out terrorist strikes against Israel. The unit’s operatives, who are locals residing in southern Syria, work within the framework of terrorist cells based on geography. Their advantage as “locals” is their deep knowledge of the terrain in which they operate and their ability to blend in with the local populace.
Hezbollah operatives from Lebanon are in charge of running the unit and training its Syrian operatives. The commander of the Golan File Unit is Ali Musa Abbas Daqduq, a veteran and senior Hezbollah operative known as “Abu Hussein Sajed” (More on the Golan file in an October 2020 article).
Are Golan File Unit operatives training to carry out operations against American forces in eastern Syria?
The key benefit of local forces operating throughout Syria under the Shiite axis (IRGC, Hezbollah) is that they are local residents. Many local militias in eastern Syria operate in accordance with the Shiite Axis. These militias have already demonstrated their ability to conduct operations against American forces employing rockets, UAVs, mortars, and other weapons. In addition, due to the proximity to Iraq, Iraqi Shiite militias operated from Iraqi territory against American forces in eastern Syria.
What is the operational logic behind sending locals from southern Syria to fight Americans in eastern Syria, since there are already local militias in eastern Syria and Shiite militias in Iraq fighting Americans there?
Furthermore, what is the benefit of making use of obsolete tanks? After all, one of the main advantages of these militias of the Golan File is their incorporation into civilian society and guerilla warfare.
According to our knowledge and experience with what goes on in the Middle East, specifically in Syria, it is difficult, if not impossible, to rule out alternative scenarios, even if they appear unreasonable at first. However, in this case, the report’s facts violate a basic modus operandi that works well for the Shiite Axis in Syria, and it recounts the usage of weaponry that are uncommon and offer no advantage.
In light of the article in Al-Hadath, it is probable that the Lebanese Hezbollah members in charge of the Golan File are also training operatives from militias in eastern Syria in Ad Dumayr to fight the Americans there. We also cannot rule out the idea that Golan File operatives who are regarded experts and highly trained in operating unusual weaponry (such as snipers, IEDs, and anti-tank weapons) train in Ad Dumayr and are then sent on ad hoc operations around Syria.
