In Syria, the division was reported to have become involved in the two battles in al-Qusayr starting on 19 May 2013, as part of the larger al-Qusayr offensive, launched in early April 2013 by the Syrian Army and the Lebanese militia Hezbollah, with the aim of capturing the villages around the rebel-held town of al-Qusayr and ultimately launching an attack on the town itself. al-Qusayr is in Homs Governorate, near the border with Lebanon. The region was strategically important as a supply route for rebels fighting Syrian government forces in Homs, and for its proximity to government-supporting areas along the coast.