Raqqa Hawks Brigade

The Raqqa Hawks Brigade, also known as Raqqa Falcons Brigade, is a primarily Arab militia, composed mostly of Raqqa natives, that is part of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and fights against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). The unit's stated goal was to recapture its home city from ISIL, which it achieved by taking part in the Battle of Raqqa (2017). The Raqqa Hawks are considered to have sympathies for and connections with Bashar al-Assad's government.

Origins
The unit was originally formed as battalion of the Front of Raqqa Revolutionaries in early 2015, but left the group sometime during 2016. Its members are motivated by a variety of reasons, such as a desire for revenge against ISIL and to free their homelands from ISIL's oppressive and repressive regime. There have also been allegations that elements within or the whole Raqqa Hawks Brigade is actually a government loyalist group. For example, a representative of the militia reportedly met with Ba'ath Party officials in Qamishli in September 2016.

Raqqa countryside and conflicts with the Front of Raqqa Revolutionaries
When the group joined the campaign to capture Raqqa in November 2016, it had around 1,000 fighters and was expected to be a "key component of the fight for the city". The Raqqa Hawks Brigade possesses several technicals and gun trucks, the latter of which were mostly captured from ISIL. In mid-November, the Raqqa Hawks Brigade took part in the several days-long battle for Tal Saman, the ISIL headquarters in the northern Raqqa countryside.

In December, tensions rose between the Front of Raqqa Revolutionaries and the Raqqa Hawks Brigade, with several military commanders of the former reportedly defecting to the latter. On 27 December, however, the Front of Raqqa Revolutionaries commanders claimed on video that they had been kidnapped by the Raqqa Hawks Brigade and forced to announce their defection, and that they were still loyal to their old group.

On 20 February 2017, one sub-commander of the Raqqa Hawks Brigade, Abu Yamen al-Meko, who reportedly had strong links to the Military Intelligence Directorate, declared his loyalty to Bashar al-Assad and formed the pro-government unit "Northern Union". His followers consequently raised the Ba'athist flag at their headquarters in the village of al-Fares. These actions, however, provoked the Front of Raqqa Revolutionaries' ire, which launched a surprise attack on al-Fares two days later and destroyed al-Meko's faction, killing or capturing its members. The Front of Raqqa Revolutionaries went on to declare that it "would never allow the regime and its supporting militia to re-enter the city [of Raqqa] by any means".

Battle of Tabqa
On 26 March, the Raqqa Hawks Brigade reportedly spearheaded the assault on the Tabqa Airbase.



On 11 April, the US Air Force mistakenly bombed a position held by the Raqqa Hawks Brigade near the city of al-Thawrah and killed around 17 fighters from the group. BBC producer Riam Dalati went on to claim that the airstrike had been called in by the YPG, which was denied by YPG spokesman Rêdûr Xelîl. The killed fighters were buried with full military honors on the next day near Tell Abyad, with thousands of locals participating in the funeral.

According to a pro-Syrian opposition news outlet, a minor skirmish between the YPG and Raqqa Hawks Brigade fighters took place in northern Tell Abyad in late May. The reason for this incident allegedly was that the YPG had attempted to arrest Raqqa Hawks Brigade members who were suspected of supporting the Assad government.

Battle of Raqqa and end of the Ghanim group
Following the conquest of al-Thawrah, the Raqqa Hawks Brigade took part in the advance on Raqqa, and was among the SDF units that took part in the assault on the city in June 2017, taking part in the fight for its Roman neighborhood.

On 26 August 2017, the YPG raided the headquarters of the Raqqa Hawks Brigade's Ghanim group in Tell Abyad and captured 15 fighters, including Fayad Ghanim, commander of the group, in addition to seizing their weapons. Several other fighters from the group fled to Syrian government-controlled territory in the eastern Raqqa countryside. The YPG accused the Ghanim group of coordinating with government forces during their offensive near the area. Despite his purported arrest, Fayad Ghanim too eventually managed to flee into government-controlled areas, where he met and was photographed with Suheil al-Hassan.

Organization
Though the Raqqa Hawks Brigade reportedly includes mostly fighters from Raqqa, at least one of its sub-units, the Ghanim group, is composed of people from northern Raqqa Governorate, primarily Tell Abyad. The Ghanim group was accused by pro-opposition media to be partly funded and equipped by the Air Force Intelligence Directorate and Russia, and several members of the unit actually defected to the Syrian Army in August 2017. Another sub-unit was the group of Abu Yamen al-Meko, who later formed the pro-Assad faction "Northern Union". This group was based in the village of al-Fares west of Tell Abyad, and was eventually destroyed by Jabhat Thuwar al-Raqqa on 22 February 2017.