Since the commencement of the offensive against the Syrian regime, led by Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) militants and activists have stressed the significant contribution of a newly unveiled drone unit, called the Shahin [Falcon] Battalions. The Military Operations Command, which leads the offensive to capture territory currently under the Syrian forces' control, released video clips showing the unit's operatives launching various types of drones. The HTS official multimedia arm, Amjad Media, called the battalions "The New Weapon of Terror."
On December 3, a pro-Syrian military media outlet shared a video originally posted to Telegram by a Russian-language channel supporting Syrian forces. The video showed "Syrian opposition" technicians in a workshop, assembling drones which will carry explosive-laden devices to attack Syrian army positions.
HTS supporters commented on photos, screenshot from the video, asserting that the Syrian opposition fighters had manufactured parts of drones they are not able to buy, using 3-D printers.
In mid-October 2024, a Telegram channel affiliated with HTS promoted infographic posters explaining first-person view (FPV) drones and their specifications to HTS operatives and supporters. The content presented was originally released by the Al-Khattabi Center for Studies in April 2023. Under a section titled, "Futuristic Weapons," the material highlighted the crucial role of drones, arguing that due to their affordability, drones are becoming "a powerful yet terrifying challenge that narrows the technological gap between guerilla fighters and conventional armies."
HTS, as well as other jihadi fighters aligned with it, have often documented the use of small drones in propaganda releases.
The full text of this report is available to MEMRI Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor subscribers.
Subscription information is available at this link.
JTTM subscribers can visit this page to view the report.
Latest Posts
