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The Fifth Corps is affiliated with the Russian First Division and its forces are deployed in Deir Ezzor province. It consists of two brigades: the Seventh Brigade located in Al-Mayadin, and the Fifth Brigade in the villages east of the Euphrates under the control of Assad’s forces.
Concerning the Fifth Brigade, its specialization is infantry and made up of more than a thousand soldiers commanded by Brigadier General “Abdul-Jabbar Ali” from Al-Qusayr in Homs. The brigade missions are commanding the brigade HQs in the town of Hatla and Al-Hussainiya and protecting the Russian war bridge that connects Shamiya to the island in the towns of Al-Marayah and Marat. The fourth battalion is stationed at Deir Ezzor military airport, in addition to the armament battalion at the headquarters of the 137th Brigade near Panorama, south of Deir Ezzor, and the reconnaissance and engineering battalions are also in Hatla with the command of Brigade and Reconciliation Center.
The brigade is tasked with seizing the appropriate military or political opportunities to control the Conico gas field, which is less than 6 kilometers from the brigade’s positions, as well as the Jufra and Azbeh fields.
The brigade military power is made up of T62 tanks, BMB armored vehicles, ZIL cars, vehicles equipped with Kornet long-range missiles and towed guns, as well as the infantry’s individual weapons of machine guns and RPGs.
Corps members are provided with military cards that allow them to cross the Assad forces’ checkpoints, and the brigade commander receives 700 USD, while the salaries of the officers delegated to lead the battalions receive 500 USD a months. The salaries of the rest of the lower-ranking officers, group commanders and members range between 250 and 300 USD.
Among the privileges of brigade members and officers is access to food, foodstuffs, detergents, and fuel provisions according to military ranks.
As for the Seventh Brigade, led by Brigadier General Wael al-Sheikh, its specialization is artillery, and it consists of several armed battalions in possession of heavy equipment within its competence.
The Seventh Brigade undertakes the tasks of controlling the Omar field, once the conditions allows it, and extracting the Iranian field decision from the Iranian Revolutionary Guards militia within the scope of the power struggle in the region.