17th Division (Syria)
{{Infobox military unit
| unit_name = 17th Reserve Division
| native_name = الفرقة الاحتياطية 17
| image = Syrian-17thDIV-trf.svg
| image_size = 200
| caption = Divisional tactical color marking
| dates = 1970 – 2024
| country = {{flag|Ba'athist Syria}}{{surrendered}}
| allegiance = {{flagicon image|Flag of the Syrian Arab Armed Forces (1980–2024).svg|size=23px}} Syrian Arab Armed Forces {{surrendered}}
| command_structure = 3rd Corps
| branch = {{flagicon image|Flag of the Syrian Arab Army.svg}} Syrian Army
| type =
| specialization = Mechanized Infantry
| size = ~ 8,500 soldiers (2018)
| garrison = Deir ez-Zor
Ayn Issa (93rd Brigade)
Qamishli (54th Regiment)
Hasakah (123rd Regiment)
| commander1_label = Commander
| commander2 =
| commander2_label =
| commander3_label =
| commander3 =
| nickname =
| motto =
| colors =
| march =
| mascot =
| equipment =
| equipment_label =
| battles = {{tree list}}
- Syrian Civil War
- Deir ez-Zor clashes
- Battle of Raqqa
- Battle of Aleppo
- Battle of Idlib
- 2013 Hama offensive
- Battle of Mork
- Idlib Governorate clashes (2014)
- 2014 Eastern Syria offensive
- Euphrates Crossing offensive (2017){{cite web|url=https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/breaking-syrian-army-expands-control-eastern-bank-euphrates-river/|title=Breaking: Syrian Army expands control over eastern bank of Euphrates River|date=21 September 2017|publisher=Al-Masdar News|access-date=24 September 2017|archive-date=25 February 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190225161950/https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/breaking-syrian-army-expands-control-eastern-bank-euphrates-river/|url-status=dead}}
- Deir ez-Zor offensive (September–November 2017)
- Syrian Desert campaign (December 2017–present)
{{tree list/end}}
| notable_commanders = Maj. Gen. Nidal Saleh Dalila{{Cite web|url=https://twitter.com/GregoryPWaters/status/1608185793658630144?t=K7s8iWcdtjTHul2l-U3ppg&s=19|title=Maj. Gen. Nidal Dalila has been appointed commander of DeZ Sec & Mil Committee & 17th Div. Was military commander of Hasakah governorate|last1=Waters |first1=Gregory|access-date=19 January 2024|work=Twitter|date=28 December 2022}}
Maj. Gen. Nizar Khaddour{{cite news |last1=Waters |first1=Gregory |title= assignment of Maj Gen Nizar Khaddour |url=https://twitter.com/GregoryPWaters/status/1336387807976230913 |access-date=9 December 2020 |work=Twitter |date=8 December 2020}}
Maj. Gen. Hassan Muhammad{{cite news |last1=Waters |first1=Gregory |title=Maj Gen Hassan Muhammad has reportedly retired. Born in Ain Shaqaq, he served in the SAA for 42 years.|url=https://twitter.com/GregoryPWaters/status/1342928664703414277?t=uJwr-5eVrX-A9AEQggRsAw&s=19|access-date=31 December 2020 |work=Twitter |date=26 December 2020}}
| anniversaries =
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{{command structure
|name=17th Reserve Division
|date=February 2013
|parent=
|subordinate=
{{Citation needed|date=July 2017}}
- 137th Mechanized Brigade
- 93rd Armoured Brigade +
- 121st Artillery Regiment (Milbia) +
- 154th Special Forces Regiment (Qamishlo)
}}
The 17th Reserve Division ({{langx|ar|الفرقة الاحتياطية 17}}) was a formation of the Syrian Army responsible for north-eastern Syria. It was one of two autonomous reserve divisions of the Syrian Arab Army, the other being the 18th Armoured Division. The 17th Division was part of the 3rd Corps.
Command structure
As of 2019, the Division was an autonomous unit of the Syrian Army. It was one of the Syrian Army's two specialized divisions, which unlike the Army's conventional divisions included both brigades and maneuver regiments.Joseph Halliday, [http://www.understandingwar.org/sites/default/files/SyrianArmy-DocOOB.pdf The Syrian Army: Doctrinal Order of Battle], Institute for the Study of War, February 2013, p.6
The 17th Division was part of the 3rd Corps structure,Joseph Halliday, [http://www.understandingwar.org/sites/default/files/SyrianArmy-DocOOB.pdf The Syrian Army: Doctrinal Order of Battle], Institute for the Study of War, February 2013, p.10{{Cite web|url=https://www.mei.edu/publications/lion-and-eagle-syrian-arab-armys-destruction-and-rebirth#pt9|title=The Lion and The Eagle: The Syrian Arab Army’s Destruction and Rebirth|website=Middle East Institute|author=Gregory Waters|date=18 July 2019|access-date=20 September 2022}} and was composed of 137th Mechanized Brigade, the 93rd Armored Brigade, the 121st and 123rd Artillery Regiments.{{Cite web|url=https://www.mei.edu/publications/return-northeast-syrian-army-deployments-against-turkish-forces|title=Return to the northeast: Syrian Army deployments against Turkish forces|author=Gregory Waters|access-date=18 October 2023|date=20 November 2019|publisher=Middle East Institute}}Joseph Halliday, [http://www.understandingwar.org/sites/default/files/SyrianArmy-DocOOB.pdf The Syrian Army: Doctrinal Order of Battle], Institute for the Study of War, February 2013, p.12 Later reports stated that two battalions from the 54th Special Forces Regiment served within the 17th Division.
=Order of Battle=
Combat history
=Role in the civil war=
{{main|Syrian civil war}}
The 17th Reserve Division was active in Deir ez-Zor province throughout 2012.
The division's 93rd Brigade left Idlib to secure Raqqa Governorate in early 2012.Joseph Halliday, [http://www.understandingwar.org/sites/default/files/TheAssadRegime-web.pdf The Assad Regime: From Counterinsurgency to Civil War], Institute for the Study of War, March 2013, p.33, citing '“Clashes between Syrian troops and army defectors kill at least 13,” Washington Post, October 13, 2011; Syrian Revolution Coordinator’s Union Facebook Page
In November 2012 the Free Syrian Army claimed that elements of the 17th Division were in Rastan, thereby raising the possibility that elements of the Division withdrew from the east as the Syrian Government lost positions there.Joseph Halliday, [http://www.understandingwar.org/sites/default/files/TheAssadRegime-web.pdf The Assad Regime: From Counterinsurgency to Civil War], Institute for the Study of War, March 2013, p.33
Following the reported capture of Raqqa on 3–6 March 2013, elements of the 17th Division remained under siege to the north of the city in October 2013.Alice Martins, [https://www.vice.com/en_uk/read/ar-raqqah-syria-isis Watching Rebels Fight Among Themselves for the City of Raqqa], VICE news, 23 September 2013.
Following the fall of the Menagh airbase, the remaining troops of the defeated 17th Division sought refuge with Kurdish forces. The Kurds, however, turned over the senior officers to al-Nusra in exchange for Kurdish prisoners and the Islamists promptly killed the handed over officers, including Colonel Naji Abu Shaar.Robert Fisk, [https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/syria-civil-war-state-of-the-art-technology-gives-president-assad-s-army-the-edge-a6898741.html Syria civil war: State-of-the-art technology gives President Assad’s army the edge] The Independent 26 February 2016
In July 2014, ISIL captured the division's and 93rd's Brigade headquarters in the 2014 Eastern Syria offensive.
In February 2016, the 137th Brigade was reported to be controlling airdropped UN aid supplies in Deir ez-Zor city.{{Cite web|title=No One Knows What Just Happened to the UN's First-Ever Humanitarian Airdrop in Syria|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/vb8xb4/no-one-knows-what-just-happened-to-the-uns-first-ever-humanitarian-airdrop-in-syria|access-date=2021-01-03|website=www.vice.com|language=en}}
On 15 October 2016, the 137th Brigade attacked the southern outskirts of their former HQ that was occupied by ISIS in Deir ez-Zor.{{cite web|url=https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/syrian-army-strikes-back-isis-southwest-deir-ezzor/|title=Syrian Army strikes back against ISIS in southwest Deir Ezzor|work=Al-Masdar News|date=15 October 2016|accessdate=16 October 2016|archive-date=2 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180902085814/https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/syrian-army-strikes-back-isis-southwest-deir-ezzor/|url-status=dead}} They killed several militants and destroyed three armored vehicles.
In June 2017, the Syrian Democratic Forces and other allied forces, aided by US airstrikes, captured the main base/headquarters of the division, located in the outskirts of Raqqa from ISIS after clashes between the two forces occurred as part of the Battle of Raqqa.{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2017-06-08 |title=SDF takes control of the 17th Division Base north of Raqqa |url=https://anfenglish.com/news/sdf-takes-control-of-the-17th-division-base-north-of-raqqa-20378 |access-date=2017-06-08 |website=ANF News |language=en}}
As of 2022, Major General Nidal Dalila, who hailed from the Republican Guard, was the commander of the 17th Reserve Division and Deir ez-Zor Security & Military Committee.