Lions of Hussein

Lions of Hussein
Lions of Hussein
Arabic: لواء أسود الحسين
	The logo of the militia. On the bottom the slogan "Homeland, Honour, Sincerity" is written.
Leaders	Muhammad Tawfiq al-Assad †; Hussein Tawfiq al-Assad
Dates of operation	1980s – 2015 (as Shabiha and criminal organization); 2015 – ? (as official militia)
Allegiance	Ba'athist Syria
Headquarters	Qardaha
Active regions	Syria
Ideology	Pro-Syrian government; Anti-Wahhabism
Size	c. 1,000 (2014)
Part of	Syrian Army's 4th Corps (denied by the militia); Local Defence Forces (since 2018);
Allies	Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps; Hezbollah; Military Security Shield Forces; LAAG;
Opponents	Free Syrian Army; Jaysh al-Islam; Ahrar al-Sham; Al-Nusra Front/Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham; Islamic State;
Battles and wars	Syrian Civil War Al-Ghab offensive (July–August 2015); Palmyra offensive (July–August 2015); Siege of Eastern Ghouta 2015 Marj al-Sultan offensive; ; 2015–16 Latakia offensive; Battle of Aleppo (2012–16); 2016 Latakia offensive; Eastern Syria campaign (September–December 2017) Battle of Deir ez-Zor (September–November 2017); ; Deir ez-Zor offensive (May–June 2018);

The Guardians of Syria Forces - Lions of Hussein (Arabic: قوات حماة سوريا - أسود الحسين, Quwat Humat Souriya - Usud al-Hussein), formerly known as Lions of Hussein Brigade (Arabic: لواء أسود الحسين, Liwa Usud al-Hussein) and often shortened to Lions of Hussein, was an Alawite militia which fought for the Ba'athist government during the Syrian Civil War.

The unit originated from Shabiha, a criminal organization that has operated in Latakia Governorate since the 1980s, and only adopted its current name and appearance in 2015. Since then, the Lions of Hussein reportedly continued their "criminal activities on the side".