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The
Lebanese Special Operations Command (
LSOCOM) (
Kiyadat al Kouwat al Khasa al Loubnanya) is the joint Special Operations
commandA command in military terminology is an organisational unit that the individual in Military command has responsibility for. A Commander will normally be specifically appointed into the role in order to provide a legal framework for the authority bestowed...
of the
Lebanese ArmyThe Lebanese Armed Forces or Forces Armées Libanaises in French, also known as the Lebanese Army according to its official Website The Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) (Arabic: القوات المسلحة اللبنانية | Al-Quwwāt al-Musallaḥa al-Lubnāniyya) or Forces Armées Libanaises in French, also known as the...
which groups
LebanonLebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
's elite units. The command is part of the
Lebanese Army CommandThe Lebanese Armed Forces or Forces Armées Libanaises in French, also known as the Lebanese Army according to its official Website The Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) (Arabic: القوات المسلحة اللبنانية | Al-Quwwāt al-Musallaḥa al-Lubnāniyya) or Forces Armées Libanaises in French, also known as the...
.
Background
The command was founded as a result of the lessons the army learned in the
Nahr el Bared OperationThe 2007 Lebanon conflict began when fighting broke out between Fatah al-Islam, an Islamist militant organization, and the Lebanese Armed Forces on May 20, 2007 in Nahr al-Bared, an UNRWA Palestinian refugee camp near Tripoli. It was the most severe internal fighting since Lebanon's 1975–90 civil...
. The Lebanese Special Forces spearheaded the attack on the camp in which 169 soldiers died and were the workhorse in the battle and the key to the success of the campaign. Nahr el Bared was the first occasion where these regiments were able to prove themselves capable, especially at
counter-terrorismCounter-terrorism is the practices, tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, militaries, police departments and corporations adopt to prevent or in response to terrorist threats and/or acts, both real and imputed.The tactic of terrorism is available to insurgents and governments...
operations, which prompted the Lebanese Army Command to start planning to expand them.
Formation
The LSOCOM includes Lebanon's 4 Special Forces Regiments:
- Navy Commando Regiment (Navy SEALs)
The Navy SEALs Regiment or Navy Commando Regiment is Lebanon's elite Maritime Special Operations unit and is a member of the Lebanese Special Operations Command. It is regarded as being one of the best Naval Special Forces units in the Middle East...
- Lebanese Commando Regiment
The Lebanese Commando Regiment, also called Maghaweer was founded in October 1966, and is considered the first special forces regiment in the Lebanese Armed Forces...
(Also known as the Maghaweer)
- Lebanese Airborne Regiment
- Counter-Sabotage (Moukafaha) Branch and the Strike Force (Kouwa el-Dareba) Anti-Terrorism Branch
Future
At formation, the size of the force was around 5000 soldiers; however, the plan is to build a force the size of two to three brigades.