40th Division (Syria)

The division was formed amid efforts to consolidate control in restive southern Syria, following the collapse of the Assad regime in late 2024. Recruitment targeted local armed groups, with over 3,000 fighters selected from approximately 10,000 applicants, many originating from Syria's coastal regions but deployed to Daraa and Quneitra Governorate.^[6]

In March 2025, members of the controversial Eighth Brigade of the Southern Operations Room were absorbed into its brigade teams as part of a broader reorganization by the Ministry of Defense.^[6]

Early operations focused on stabilizing Daraa through integration of militias, but the unit faced immediate challenges. In July 2025, it clashed with Druze militias in neighboring Suwayda Governorate, resulting in several casualties among its soldiers and officers.^[7] Later that month, Israeli airstrikes targeted assets of the 40th Division, including convoys and facilities, killing several officers such as Brigadier General Muammar Ibrahim and Khaled al-Zoabi. Internal incidents included the August 25, 2025, shooting of a division member by internal security forces during an arrest attempt, and the September 30, 2025, assassination of another member from Al-Bowayr village, marking the third such killing of Syrian security personnel in Daraa that month. As of October 2025, the division continues recruitment and training to bolster southern security, operating amid ongoing instability.^[6]

The commander of the division is Binyan Ahmad al-Hariri (Abu Fares).^[7] Initially, during the Syrian civil war, al-Hariri joined the Salafi-jihadist group Liwa al-Muhajireen wal-Ansar and later became the commander and co-founder of the Islamist-Salafi militant group Ahrar al-Sham, which fought in the conflict to establish an Islamic state governed by Sharia law.^[1][8]

Under the 40th Division, four brigades are expected to operate:^[7]

• Western Daraa Countryside Brigade (led by Ahmad al-Qassem (Abu Iyad))
• Daraa Brigade
• Suwayda Brigade
• Brigade (name/number unknown)