By 2016, the Descendants of Saladin Brigade claimed to have 600 members, primarily Kurdish, with one third of its fighters being Arabs and Syrian Turkmen, in addition to one Christian and one Alawite fighter. They along with the Dhi Qar Brigade were part of Division 99 in 2016.[1] For most of its existence, the entire militia was led by Mahmoud Khallo (nom de guerre "Abu Hamza") who was one of its founders and a long-time opponent of the PYD.[2][1][11] After his removal from command in 2017,[1] leadership of the remaining Saladin Brigade passed to Mohammed Hawash,[7] a member of a Kurdish tribe from the Idlib countryside.[12] Masoud Ibo, former spokesman of the Descendants of Saladin Brigade, also joined Hawash's group.[2] In November 2017, Ibo condemned Ibrahim Biro, head of the Kurdish National Council.[13] Ibo stated in February 2018 that the group will try to avoid civilian casualties during the Turkish military operation in Afrin.[2]