The 3rd battalion of "Sonderverband 287" was taken from the unit and sent as the "Deutsche-Arabische Lehr-Abteilung" to the Caucasus in September 1942. It was part of the Axis offensive into the region and the German plan to raise an Iraqi government-in-exile there. It was then to use the region as a springboard for conquering Iraq. The plan never came to be and the unit never saw action following heavy German setbacks in late 1942. The unit was sent to the battle in Tunisia via Italy in January 1943. There, the "Deutsche-Arabische Lehr-Abteilung" was placed on the southern flank of the Axis army and was used to recruit more local Arabs who formed a second battalion of auxiliaries, who were used for guard duty and as construction troops. The whole unit was captured along with the rest of the Axis forces in Africa in May 1943.