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العربية
The Assad forces shifted subordination of the 148 Brigade base from al-Qaterji commandership to the 17th Infantry Division. The Assad forces also moved the Brigade base commandership headquarters to Ayn-Isa in the northern al-Raqqa countryside. This step contributes to the curbing of local militias.
Most of the al-Qaterji militias’ outposts supervise the eastern side of International Highway M4 where smuggling oil and its products is active, as well as smuggling people to the National Army-controlled areas starting from the al-Aliyah silos in the al-Hasakah countryside down to al-Shamiya in Deir Ezzor, passing by frontlines with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and al-Raqqa governorate.
The Brigade 148 includes 1,000 soldiers, most of them from Eastern Syria who are wanted for compulsory recruitment. They joined the brigade upon a settlement by Russia. Each soldier receives 99,000 Syrian pounds (SYP) as a salary added to 45,000 SYP for the soldiers’ unemployed wives. The soldiers depend on smuggling to make a living.
The 17th Infantry Division deploys to Eastern Syria in the al-Hasakah and al-Raqqa countryside, al-Shamiya badiya in Deir Ezzor down to al-Bukamal along with the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps militia and the National Defense militia. The headquarters of the division is located opposite of the al-Fursan bridge in the al-Bughailiyah neighborhood, western Deir Ezzor.
