PLA armored, "Commando", infantry, and artillery units were organized into independent formations deployed to a specific area of military operations or "Sector" (Arabic: Qitay), seven of which were formed upon the establishment of the Popular Liberation Forces (PLF) in August 1976, and doubled as Regional Commands. Each "Sector" was assigned a "Commando" company and an infantry company, both of which were raised locally and grouped together into a battalion- or regimental-sized combat task-force termed a "Brigade" (Arabic: Liwa), plus an attached Military Police Brigade (actually, a Battalion).Abi-Chahine, The People's Liberation Army Through the Eyes of a Lens, 1975–1991 (2019), p. 87. By February 1984, the PLA aligned eight such "Brigades" that fielded eight "Commando" companies and eight assorted infantry companies, and eight Military Police "Brigades", with their respective "Sectors" being organized as follows:
