[7][8] In addition, the Syrian government allowed such individuals to form private militia units, such as Desert Hawks, whose members were better equipped than regular army soldiers due to connections and financial resources available to the Jaber brothers.

[4] In November 2014 during the battle for Shaer gas field the units (operational) commander Mohsen Hussein was killed while attempting to expel ISIL terrorists from the facility.

[13] In course of the 2015–16 Latakia offensive, the brigade developed a close connection to the Shia militant group LAAG, which began to provide advisors to Suqur al-Sahara.

[18] The offensive began shortly after Kurdish forces achieved notable advances in Manbij and the Syrian command attempted to exploit this, reportedly believing that ISIL would be unable to fight on two different fronts simultaneously.

[7][25] Subsequently, the Desert Hawks were stigmatized as Jaber's own personal guard and only then a pro-government unit of possibly questionable long-term loyalty to the current Syrian government.

[26][12] On 2 August 2017, the Desert Hawks Brigade was disbanded, with Colonel Jaber returning to Russia, Ukraine or the disputed Crimea region to continue his pre-war employment.

The soldiers will allegedly be spread out between the Qalamoun Shield Forces, 3rd Armoured Division, the 5th Corps and the Syrian Marines of 103rd Commando Brigade of the Republican Guard which is commanded by his brother, Colonel Aymen Jaber.