Syria is helping the Saudis by sending a former ISIS commander

According to various sources consulted by the Associated Press, Syria is ready to join the Mecca Pact with Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan and to provide Riyadh with the ‘boots on the ground’ that no other country in the region has so far been willing to commit to the war against the pro-Iranian Houthis. This involves around 600 men; their deployment would mark a significant turning point in the foreign policy of interim President Ahmed al Sharaa, as it would be the first time since the fall of the regime that Damascus has participated in a war beyond its own borders. The news of Damascus’s accession to the Mecca Pact, which has military objectives, has not yet been confirmed, but it would be an exceptional turning point for the regional balance of power, pushing Damascus ever closer into the arms of the Turks and Saudis – something which Israel, for example, fears most.

The first test of Syria’s goodwill would therefore be the assistance offered to the Saudis against the Houthis. The deployment of the contingent has not been confirmed by Saudi Arabia, whilst Syria has merely clarified that no deployment to Yemen is planned. Divided between territories controlled by the forces of the Southern Transitional Council, backed by Riyadh, and the pro-Iranian Houthis in the north, the Gulf state has been at war since 2014, and Saudi strategic sites – airports and refineries – have become the main targets of attacks by the Houthis, who are funded and armed by Iran.

Damascus’s contribution will likely be limited to support roles involving supplies, target identification and drones. According to the Associated Press, a team of military personnel had already arrived in Saudi Arabia at the end of October and remained there for two weeks to inspect the facilities intended to house the Syrian forces. The delegation was reportedly led by Khaled al Halabi, known by his nom de guerre Khaled Khattab, one of the commanders of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham’s advance on Damascus in December 2024, which forced Bashar al-Assad to flee. The fact that al-Sharaa entrusted Khattab with the leadership of such a sensitive military operation in Saudi Arabia – particularly given its political implications – demonstrates how former jihadist commanders have taken control of key positions within the Syrian Armed Forces. Khattab commands the 82nd Division, which operates along the Syrian coast in the province of Hama, an area once under the control of Assad’s Tiger Forces. It is regarded as an elite force, now composed mainly of Syrians but also including some foreign fighters. It is a kind of special forces unit, though it has recently been at the centre of controversial incidents. As well as being accused of abductions and acts of violence against the Alawite minority on the coast, the 82nd Division is also suspected of carrying out the massacre at the Suwayda hospital in the southern Druze province. In July 2025, CCTV footage showed soldiers in army uniform – some bearing the insignia of the Islamic State – storming the hospital. In what have become some of the most harrowing images since the fall of the regime, some of these soldiers shot defenceless doctors and nurses at point-blank range inside the building. Khattab himself, a former Assad loyalist who later joined the rebels at the start of the civil war in 2011, has a history of militancy within Islamic militant groups. The most significant of these was Ansar al-Tawhid, active in Sarmin, in northern Idlib, which brought together survivors of the disbanded Jund al-Aqsa, an armed group with links to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State.

The urgency of galvanising a joint military response amongst the region’s leading Sunni countries against Iran means Riyadh cannot afford to be too choosy. If defending the refineries from attacks by pro-Iranian terrorists requires recruiting other (former) terrorists who have since become generals, Riyadh appears willing to take the risk. Not that the recruitment of al Sharaa’s men has come without a price. Last week, Saudi Arabia and Syria signed a military cooperation agreement, the details of which have not been disclosed. What is certain is that the Gulf state has also pledged over 400 million euros in loans, to be invested in Syria’s reconstruction. This money is essential for al Sharaa, who, having previously refused Donald Trump’s request to intervene militarily in Lebanon against Hezbollah, is now prepared to change his mind and lend his support to Saudi Arabia against the Houthis. A less demanding and far more lucrative military commitment.