Western al-Bab offensive (September 2016) | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Part of the Syrian Civil War, the Syrian Kurdish-Islamist conflict (2013-present), and the American-led intervention in Syria | |||||||
![]() Jabhat al-Akrad fighters near Herbel, two months before the offensive | |||||||
| |||||||
Belligerents | |||||||
![]() | |||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | Unknown | ||||||
Units involved | |||||||
| Unknown | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
Unknown | 3,000+ militants [11] | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
40 killed (SOHR and SDF claim) [12] [13] [14] One BMP-1 and one T-72 destroyed [15] 30 killed (ISIL claim) [15] | 58 killed, 7 vehicles destroyed (SDF claim) [1] [16] [17] |
The western al-Bab offensive (September 2016) was a military operation launched by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in the countryside of northwestern Aleppo Governorate, south of the towns of Mare' and Tel Rifaat.
On 14 August 2016, just after the capture of Manbij during the Manbij offensive, several SDF factions led by 16 commanders formed the al-Bab Military Council, modelled after the Manbij Military Council, in order to capture territory in the al-Bab countryside and eventually the city itself from ISIL. The military council called for US support in the planned offensive. [18] The main forces of the council would attack al-Bab from its eastern side, though elements of the council do also have a presence on the western front. [19]
On 30 August 2016, following heavy mortar bombardment and US Air Force airstrikes on ISIL positions in the villages that killed 13 fighters and destroyed five of their vehicles, forcing them to withdraw, the SDF in Afrin, led by the Army of Revolutionaries, entered and captured the villages of Maarat Umm Hawsh, Umm Qura, Herbel, and Tell Qarah. [1]
The next day, ISIL launched a counter-attack on Herbel and briefly recaptured it. However, the Revolutionary Army reentered the village and retook it, capturing a stash of weapons and ammunition, and the Syrian independence flag was raised in the town. [16] A US airstrike destroyed a mortar in the area. [20] In the evening of that day ISIL sent two car bombs at the village but they were reportedly destroyed before they could reach their targets.
SDF engineering units dismantled and detonated 70 land mines by 2 September. [21] US airstrikes destroyed seven ISIL positions and a weapons cache on the same day. [22] SDF positions in Umm Qura were shelled by ISIL during the night which prompted them to shell back. [23] Minesweeping operations continued as dozens of landmines remain in the village. [24]
ISIL launched a second counter-attack on Umm Hosh and Umm Qara on 4 September, after bombarding the villages with heavy weapons. [25] ISIL claimed it had recaptured Umm Qara and killed around 30 SDF fighters and destroyed 2 of their armoured vehicles with anti-tank missiles. [15] On 6 September, the SDF captured the village of Wahshiyah. [2]
On 8 September, ISIL evacuated its headquarters in al-Bab and moved it to Khafsa located east of the city with dozens of vehicles carrying militants and weapons, this came a day after Turkish-led rebel forces also expressed their goal of capturing al-Bab. [26]
On 19 September, after shelling the village with rocket artillery and exploding 2 car bombs, ISIL launched another counter-offensive on Umm Hosh from three axis. Intense clashes between the SDF and ISIL continued the next day, [27] and 16 SDF fighters were killed. The front in Umm Hosh eventually calmed, however fighting continued in the outskirts of the village. [13]
On 24 and 25 September, the SDF captured al-Hasia and Hassadjek, with clashes ongoing in Bayt Isa and Tall Saussine south of Tell Qara. After this the SDF reached within 20 km west of al-Bab city. [28]
On 28 September, ISIL launched a fourth counteroffensive, launching 2 car bombs at SDF checkpoints around Umm Qura and Umm Hosh and launching mortar shells on the SDF headquarters in the area. SDF forces responded by firing heavy artillery at ISIL positions in the villages of Wahshiya, Hesasik and Tel Maled. According to the SDF at least 16 ISIL militants were killed and six SDF fighters were killed in the attacks. Clashes also erupted between SDF fighters and ISIL militants near the town of Herbel where two ISIS vehicles were destroyed and eight militants were killed according to the SDF. Three SDF fighters were killed in these clashes. [14]
US warplanes assisted the SDF by conducting at least three airstrikes on ISIL fighting positions which forced the ISIL militants to withdraw. The SDF spokesman Ahmed Sultan stated that the clashes stopped around midnight, and due to US airstrikes, the ISIL forces withdrew from their positions. [14]
Mid-October, in response to advances by the Turkey-backed Free Syrian Army forces against ISIL in the area of Dabiq, the SDF started their own advances. [29] [30]
The Rojava–Islamist conflict, a major theater in the Syrian civil war, started after fighting erupted between the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) and Islamist rebel factions in the city of Ras al-Ayn. Kurdish forces launched a campaign in an attempt to take control of the Islamist-controlled areas in the governorate of al-Hasakah and some parts of Raqqa and Aleppo governorates after al-Qaeda in Syria used those areas to attack the YPG. The Kurdish groups and their allies' goal was also to capture Kurdish areas from the Arab Islamist rebels and strengthen the autonomy of the region of Rojava. The Syrian Democratic Forces would go on to take substantial territory from Islamist groups, in particular the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, provoking Turkish involvement in the Syrian Civil War.
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).
The 2015 al-Hawl offensive was an offensive launched by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) during the Syrian Civil War, in order to capture the strategic town of al-Hawl and the surrounding countryside from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). The offensive consisted of separate operations in three different areas: Tell Brak, al-Hawl, and the southern al-Hasakah city countryside.
The Tishrin Dam offensive, or Southern Kobanî offensive, was a military operation in the northeastern Aleppo Governorate during the Syrian Civil War, conducted by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to capture the strategic Tishrin Dam and the southern countryside of the self-declared Kobanî Canton from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). The Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve supported the SDF offensive with over 26 airstrikes.
The al-Shaddadi offensive (2016), also known as Operation Wrath of Khabur, was an offensive launched by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) during the Syrian Civil War, in February 2016. The main goal of this offensive was to capture the strategic city of Al-Shaddadi and the remainder of the southern al-Hasakah Governorate from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). During the offensive, the US-led coalition conducted more than 86 airstrikes in Al-Shaddadi and the nearby areas, in support of the SDF advances.
The Manbij offensive, code-named Operation Martyr and Commander Faysal Abu Layla by the SDF, was a 2016 military offensive operation by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to capture the city of Manbij from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), and eventually, the ISIL-held areas through Al-Bab to Herbel, in the area referred to as the "Manbij Pocket" in the northern Aleppo Governorate. The main goal of the offensive was to cut off ISIL's last supply routes from Turkey, and to prevent ISIL fighters from escaping across the Syria-Turkey border. For the first five days of the offensive, the US-led coalition conducted over 55 airstrikes in support of the SDF. After capturing Manbij city on 12 August, the SDF announced that the offensive would continue until the whole countryside around Manbij was captured, though the offensive effectively ended shortly after the Turkish Armed Forces initiated Operation Euphrates Shield to prevent the SDF uniting the regions of Rojava.
The Northern Raqqa offensive was a 2016 military offensive launched by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in northern Raqqa Governorate, in order to prepare for a future attack on the city of Raqqa. The offensive was launched in coordination with airstrikes by the US-led Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve. After 30 May, the offensive stalled, as the SDF shifted its focus and resources to another operation in the northern Aleppo Province.
Operation Euphrates Shield was a cross-border military operation conducted by the Turkish Armed Forces in the Syrian Civil War which led to the Turkish occupation of northern Syria. Operations were carried out in the region between the Euphrates river to the east and the rebel-held area around Azaz to the west. The Turkish military and Turkey-aligned Syrian rebel groups, some of which used the Free Syrian Army label, fought against the forces of the Islamic State (IS) as well as against the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) from 24 August 2016. On 29 March 2017, the Turkish military officially announced that Operation Euphrates Shield was "successfully completed".
The northern al-Bab offensive was a military offensive and part of the third phase of Operation Euphrates Shield launched by the Turkish Armed Forces and factions from the Free Syrian Army and allied groups, with the goal of capturing the city of al-Bab located north of Aleppo from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.
The western al-Bab offensive was a multi-sided military confrontation between the Syrian Army, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), other (Turkey-backed) FSA factions, and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in the countryside of northwestern Aleppo Governorate, south of the towns of Mare' and Tel Rifaat.
The Raqqa campaign was a military operation launched in November 2016 during the Rojava–Islamist conflict by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in the Raqqa Governorate, with the goal of isolating and eventually capturing the Islamic State's capital city, Raqqa. The SDF's subsidiary goals included capturing the Tabqa Dam, the nearby city of al-Thawrah, and the Baath Dam further downstream. The campaign ended successfully in October 2017, with the capture of Raqqa.
The Battle of al-Bab was a battle for the city of al-Bab in the Aleppo Governorate that included a military offensive launched by Syrian rebel groups and the Turkish Armed Forces north of al-Bab, a separate Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) offensive east and west of the city, and another Syrian Army offensive from the south of the city. The northern Turkish-led forces intended to capture al-Bab from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), as part of the Turkish military intervention in Syria. By the end of the battle, the Turkish-led forces had captured al-Bab, Qabasin, and Bizaah, while the Syrian Army captured Tadef and other areas further south, with the SDF making gains further to the east and the west.
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 Battle of Tabqa, part of the Raqqa campaign (2016–17) of the Rojava-Islamist conflict, resulted from a Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) operation against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) to recapture and secure the Tabqa Dam, al-Thawrah (al-Tabqah), Tabqa Airbase, and the surrounding countryside. The SDF was supported by the United States military. The assault on these targets by the anti-ISIL forces began on 22 March 2017, and control of Tabqa and the Tabqa Dam was achieved by these forces on 10 May 2017.
The Battle of Raqqa (2017), also known as the Second Battle of Raqqa, was the fifth and final phase of the Raqqa campaign (2016–2017) launched by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) against the Islamic State (ISIL) with an aim to seize the city of Raqqa, the de facto capital of ISIL since 2014. The battle began on 6 June 2017, and was supported by airstrikes and ground troops from the US-led coalition. The operation was named the "Great Battle" by the SDF. It concluded on 17 October 2017, with the SDF fully capturing the city of Raqqa.
The Northern Democratic Brigade is a Free Syrian Army unit that is closely allied to the Syrian Kurdish YPG and YPJ in Afrin Region since 2014. Led by Absi Taha, Alexander Khalil, and Alexander Alaa, it also joined the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in November 2015. The initial members of the group originated from Jabal Zawiya in Idlib, and it has recruited Arabs from Idlib, Aleppo, and other cities in northern Syria since allying with the YPG. Since joining the SDF, the unit has begun to operate across much of northern and eastern Syria, participating in operations against anti-SDF Syrian opposition factions, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, the Turkish Armed Forces, and the Syrian National Army.
The Deir ez-Zor campaign, codenamed the al-Jazeera Storm campaign, was a military operation launched by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in Syria's Deir ez-Zor Governorate in 2017 during the Syrian Civil War with the goal of capturing territory in eastern Syria, particularly east and north of the Euphrates river. The U.S.-led Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF–OIR) anti-ISIL coalition provided extensive air support while SDF personnel composed the majority of the ground forces; OIR special forces and artillery units were also involved in the campaign. The ground campaign stalled and was paused in early 2018 due to the Turkish military operation in Afrin, but resumed on 1 May 2018 with the new phase named by the coalition as Operation Roundup. The third phase began on 10 September 2018 but was halted due to Turkish artillery attacks on SDF positions near the Syria-Turkey border on 31 October. The SDF and the coalition announced the resumption of the offensive on 11 November. After a series of steady successes following the capture of ISIL's Hajin stronghold, and a ten-day pause for civilian evacuations, the SDF launched its final assault on ISIL's final pocket of territory on 9 February 2019 and declared victory on 23 March, concluding the campaign.
Opposition–ISIL conflict during the Syrian Civil War started after fighting erupted between Syrian opposition groups and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). In early January 2014, serious clashes between the groups erupted in the north of the country. Opposition groups near Aleppo attacked ISIL in two areas, Atarib and Anadan, which were both strongholds of the fundamentalist Sunni organization. Despite the conflict between ISIL and other rebels, one faction of ISIL has cooperated with the al-Nusra Front and the Green Battalion to combat Hezbollah in the Battle of Qalamoun. By 2018, the Islamic State was destroyed in the territories held by the opposition.