After months of conflict and failure on the part of the rebels to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad's government, some rebel factions changed strategy and began targeting government-held military bases. The Menagh Air Base had been a crucial military base used by the Syrian Air Force to bomb rebel forces in the north of the country, particularly in Aleppo city.[citation needed]
Siege
2012
The first major rebel assault against the base came in the weeks following the start of the battle of Aleppo. Rebel fighters from the Free Syrian Army and affiliated groups launched an attack against the air base on 2 August 2012 using a combination of small arms, rocket-propelled grenades, and five tanks they had captured during the battle of Anadan. The base was used by Syrian Air Force helicopters and jet aircraft to bombard rebel positions, and seizing it was seen as vital to the rebels in their advances across northern Syria.[31] The initial rebel attack was repelled by government troops entrenched inside the air base's perimeter, though rebel commanders said they would continue the siege and capture the base.[32]
Heavy fighting broke out on the night of 27 December and continued "all night", as rebels had once again assaulted the besieged base. MiG warplanes bombed rebel positions on the outskirt of the base in an effort to alleviate some of the pressure on the defenders.[33]
2013
By January 2013, the base still held out against the rebels, despite being besieged on all sides. The remaining defenders were receiving supplies of weapons and food, as well as medical evacuations by helicopter; however, these flights became increasingly risky for pilots as rebel forces gained access to heavy weaponry and fired upon government helicopters. At this point the rebels estimated roughly 300 soldiers remained defending the air base. Soldiers who defected from the base reported that food supplies were a major issue and that soldiers were given rations of dry rice and wheat and told to "make what they can from it". Self-inflicted injuries were also reported as soldiers attempted to escape the fighting.[6]
On 8 February, the Syrian Air Force bombed parts of the base after rebel fighters stormed it, which forced the rebels to retreat.[34]
Syrian Air Force strike on the surroundings of Menagh Air Base in support of the besieged government forces inside the base, April 2013
A rebel attack was once again repulsed by government troops on 28 April, though rebels did manage to overrun some parts of the base before being forced to withdraw.[35]
On 5 May, as the siege of the base continued and government soldiers still refused to surrender, rebels launched their biggest offensive against the base to date, overrunning several Army positions and moving deep inside the base and capturing a tank, although they came under heavy aerial attack by the Air Force.[36] Rebels claimed that a group of pilots defected and assassinated the base's commanding officer. The defecting pilots told rebels that around 200 soldiers remained in the base, garrisoned in the headquarters building supported by a handful of tanks. Many soldiers resorted to sleeping under tanks, fearing a rebel assault.[22] On 9 May, it was reported that, although they managed to capture parts of the Menagh Air Base, rebel fighters were forced to retreat from the base due to heavy air strikes.[37]
On 28 May, rebel sources reported that the government conducted a successful airborne resupply mission to the Menagh base after several thousand FSA and jihadist rebels moved west to launch an attack on Kurdish fighters of the People's Protection Units (YPG) in the Afrin region, bringing critical military and logistical supplies to the air base. The Kurdish Front Brigade also withdrew its participation in the siege in order to join forces with the YPG to repel the attack on Afrin.[20]
On 7 June, rebel forces attacked the air base and fired tank shells at its command building, but were once again repelled.[38] Rebel forces launched another assault on 10 June, and by the next day had managed to secure the control tower after heavy fighting.[39] Government forces responded by shelling rebel held parts of the base.[40] On 17 June, rebels clashed with pro-government fighters from Nubl and Al-Zahraa who were headed for Menagh in an effort to reinforce the remaining soldiers inside the base.[41]
On 23 June, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a pro-opposition war observer, reported that rebels had detonated a large car bomb in the government-held area of Menagh, which killed 12 soldiers and destroyed many buildings within the airport. The explosion was reportedly followed by missile fire on Army positions.[42]
Map of the final assault on the air base in August 2013
After ten months of siege warfare, the various rebel groups at Menagh Air Base finally decided to coordinate in order to launch a large-scale assault to capture the base. Several insurgent militias taking part in this coordinated effort were actually hostile toward each other (for example, the Northern Storm Brigade had clashed with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) as late as July 2013); nevertheless, they put their differences mostly aside for the final attack on the base.[43] The rebels prepared their assault with a three-day long bombardment using artillery, mortars, and machine-guns.[44] The attack was carried out on 5 August 2013, led by jihadistAbu Omar al-Shishani, a chief ISIL commander.[45] By this point, 70[23]–120[24][25][26] government troops had remained, holding out in a small section of the complex.[44]
The attack began when two foreign suicide bombers from ISIL's JAMWA,[17] one of them a Saudi, drove a BMP infantry fighting vehicle up to the airport's command center and blew themselves up, destroying the building and killing or scattering the defenders.[44] Despite this, the surviving soldiers continued to offer heavy resistance[46] as ISIL, along with FSA and Islamist forces, stormed the base from three sides.[47] By the morning of the next day, however, rebel forces had full control of the airport. In course of the final battle, 32 government soldiers and at least 19 rebels were killed.[1][3][24] According to the insurgents, on the morning of the final attack, ten soldiers defected to the rebels and claimed to have attempted but failed to kill the base commander, who was later captured as he attempted to retreat with his men.[26] Though most of the aircraft which had originally been stationed at the airbase was distributed to other bases during the siege,[48] the Syrian Air Force lost at least five Mil Mi-8 helicopters at Menagh.[29]
About 70 Syrian soldiers, who managed to flee from the base during the battle, surrendered themselves (and two tanks) the next day to the Kurdish-led YPG in Afrin, located about 15 kilometers west of the airbase.[25][49] It was later reported that the surrendered troops were from the 17th Division and some officers from those surrendered troops were turned over by the YPG to the al-Nusra Front in exchange for Arab and Kurdish YPG prisoners al-Nusra captured from previous battles.[50] Al-Nusra then executed the officers they had received. The YPG later apologized for the incident.[50]
Aftermath
The fall of Menagh Air Base fortified rebel control over much of north-western Syria. The role of JAMWA in the siege, however, strengthened outside perception of the Syrian insurgency as one relying heavily on foreign jihadists.[43] Extremist islamists generally portrayed the victory as being one for their cause.[29] Regional expert Joanna Paraszczuk argued that the importance of JAMWA in the siege should not be overstated, however, as the victory was achieved through the coordination of numerous rebel groups and not just the activities of JAMWA.[43]
Menagh Military Air Base is a Syrian Air Force installation located 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) south of Azaz, Aleppo Governorate, Syria near the village of Manaq.
The Kurdish Front is a predominantly Kurdish Syrian rebel faction participating in the Syrian Civil War.
The 2014 Eastern Syria offensive was an offensive launched by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant against government-held military installations in eastern Syria during the Syrian Civil War, after expelling the Syrian rebels from the region. The offensive is considered to be the largest military attack against the Syrian government launched by ISIL since its establishment. It is also considered to be a reaction to Syrian Army military operations against ISIL positions in eastern Syria.
The following is a timeline of the Syrian civil war from August to December 2014. Information about aggregated casualty counts is found at Casualties of the Syrian Civil War.
The Levant Front is a Syrian rebel group based around Aleppo involved in the Syrian Civil War. It was formed in December 2014.
The siege of Nubl and al-Zahraa during the Syrian civil war was laid by rebels to capture two Syrian government-held towns north of Aleppo, after they had seized most of the northern countryside in July 2012. The siege was lifted on 3 February 2016, as a result of a Syrian government offensive.
The Army of Revolutionaries, or Jaysh al-Thuwar, is a multi-ethnic armed Syrian rebel coalition that is allied with the primarily Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) and participating in the Syrian Civil War as part of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
Relations between the People's Protection Units (YPG) and the Free Syrian Army (FSA) are unclear and varied among the different FSA factions. Both are opposed to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. However, several clashes between the two have taken place. Under pressure from the United States, some FSA groups coordinate with the YPG to battle ISIL under the name of the Syrian Democratic Forces, although some other FSA groups remained in conflict with the YPG and the SDF, including FSA groups in the SDF.
The following is a timeline of the Syrian Civil War from January to July 2014. Information about aggregated casualty counts is found at Casualties of the Syrian Civil War.
The Northern Aleppo offensive refers to a military operation launched northwest of Aleppo in early February 2016 by the Syrian Arab Army and its allies. The offensive successfully broke the three-year Siege of Nubl and Al-Zahraa, effectively cutting off the main supply route of the Syrian rebels from Turkey.
The Sultan Murad Division is an armed rebel group in the Syrian Civil War, created around a Syrian Turkmen identity. It is aligned with the Syrian opposition and are heavily supported by Turkey, who provides funding and military training along with artillery and aerial support. It is the most notable group among Syrian Turkmen Brigades supported by Turkey.
The Syrian National Army, previously the Free Syrian Army (FSA) and also known as the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army (TFSA), is a coalition of armed Syrian opposition groups in the Syrian Civil War. Comprising various rebel factions that emerged at the onset of the war in July 2011, it was officially established in 2017 under the auspices of Turkey, which provides funding, training, and military support.
The East Aleppo offensive (2017), also referred to as the Dayr Hafir offensive, was an operation launched by the Syrian Army to prevent Turkish-backed rebel forces from advancing deeper into Syria, and also to ultimately capture the ISIL stronghold of Dayr Hafir. Another aim of the operation was to gain control of the water source for Aleppo city, at the Khafsa Water Treatment Plant, in addition to capturing the Jirah Military Airbase. At the same time, the Turkish-backed rebel groups turned towards the east and started launching attacks against the Syrian Democratic Forces, west of Manbij.
The 2012–2013 escalation of the Syrian Civil War refers to the third phase of the Syrian Civil War, which gradually escalated from a UN-mediated cease fire attempt during April–May 2012 and deteriorated into radical violence, escalating the conflict level to a full-fledged civil war.
The Northern Aleppo offensive was a military offensive launched by armed Syrian opposition forces led by the Free Syrian Army against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in the northern Aleppo Governorate. The offensive resulted in ISIL's withdrawal from the city of Azaz, Menagh Military Airbase, and a number of towns and villages in the area.
The following is a timeline of the Syrian Civil War from January to April 2018. Information about aggregated casualty counts is found at Casualties of the Syrian Civil War.
The Saladin Ayubi Brigade was a mainly-Syrian Kurdish armed rebel group that fought in the Syrian Civil War as part of the Free Syrian Army. Formed in May 2012 and named after the early Kurdish Muslim leader Saladin, the group was led by defected Syrian Army Captain Bewar Mustafa and fought against Syrian government forces in and around the city of Aleppo. It was also strongly opposed to the Kurdish-led Democratic Union Party (PYD), and have clashed with the PYD-affiliated People's Protection Units (YPG) and the Women's Protection Units (YPJ) several times.
The Conquest Brigade, also known as Battalion of Conquest or al-Fatah Brigade, is a Sunni Islamist Free Syrian Army group that takes part in the Syrian Civil War. One of the largest rebel factions active in Aleppo Governorate during the early civil war, the militia played a major part in the fighting for Aleppo city and other battles. As result of conflicts with government forces and later the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant it declined after 2013.The Conquest Brigade became part of the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army (TFSA) in 2016, also engaging in fighting with the Syrian Democratic Forces.
The SDF insurgency in northern Syria refers to a campaign of armed attacks carried out by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), following the expansion of the Turkish occupation of northern Syria after the early 2018 Operation Olive Branch carried out by the Turkish Armed Forces (TAF) and the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army (TFSA).
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Abu Usamah al-Maghrebi [11] [12] [13] 
Brig. Gen. Ali Salim Mahmoud † [14] 
