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The Eastern al-Hasakah offensive was launched in the
Al-Hasakah Governorate Al-Hasakah Governorate ( ar, محافظة الحسكة, Muḥāfaẓat al-Ḥasakah, ku, Parêzgeha Hesekê}, syc, ܗܘܦܪܟܝܐ ܕܚܣܟܗ, Huparkiyo d'Ḥasake, also known as syc, ܓܙܪܬܐ, Gozarto) is one of the fourteen governorates (pro ...
during the Syrian Civil War, by the
Kurd ug:كۇردلار Kurds ( ku, کورد ,Kurd, italic=yes, rtl=yes) or Kurdish people are an Iranian peoples, Iranian ethnic group native to the mountainous region of Kurdistan in Western Asia, which spans southeastern Turkey, northwestern Ir ...
ish-majority
People's Protection Units The People's Defense Units (YPG), (YPG) ; ar, وحدات حماية الشعب, Waḥdāt Ḥimāyat aš-Šaʽb) also called People's Protection Units, is a mainly-Kurdish militia in Syria and the primary component of the Syrian Democra ...
,
Assyrian Assyrian may refer to: * Assyrian people, the indigenous ethnic group of Mesopotamia. * Assyria, a major Mesopotamian kingdom and empire. ** Early Assyrian Period ** Old Assyrian Period ** Middle Assyrian Empire ** Neo-Assyrian Empire * Assyrian ...
Christian militias, and allied Arab forces against the
jihadist Jihadism is a neologism which is used in reference to "militant Islamic movements that are perceived as existentially threatening to the West" and "rooted in political Islam."Compare: Appearing earlier in the Pakistani and Indian media, Wes ...
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant An Islamic state is a State (polity), state that has a form of government based on sharia, Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical Polity, polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a t ...
(ISIL or ISIS), with the intent of retaking the areas of the
Jazira Canton The Jazira Region, formerly Jazira Canton, ( ku, Herêma Cizîrê, ar, إقليم الجزيرة, syr, ܦܢܝܬܐ ܕܓܙܪܬܐ, Ponyotho d'Gozarto), is the largest of the Regions of Rojava, three original regions of the de facto Autonomous Adm ...
that had been captured by ISIL. Subsequently, the
Syrian Armed Forces The Syrian Arab Armed Forces ( ar, الْقُوَّاتُ الْمُسَلَّحَةُ الْعَرَبِيَّةُ السُّورِيَّةُ, al-Quwwāt al-Musallaḥah al-ʿArabīyah as-Sūrīyah) are the military forces of the Syrian Arab Re ...
also launched an assault against the jihadists, without coordinating with the YPG.


Background

In February 2014, multiple towns and villages in the eastern part of the
Jazira Canton The Jazira Region, formerly Jazira Canton, ( ku, Herêma Cizîrê, ar, إقليم الجزيرة, syr, ܦܢܝܬܐ ܕܓܙܪܬܐ, Ponyotho d'Gozarto), is the largest of the Regions of Rojava, three original regions of the de facto Autonomous Adm ...
came under ISIL control. On 23 June 2014, ISIL expanded into
Tell Brak Tell Brak (Nagar, Nawar) was an ancient city in Syria; its remains constitute a tell located in the Upper Khabur region, near the modern village of Tell Brak, 50 kilometers north-east of Al-Hasaka city, Al-Hasakah Governorate. The city' ...
and the surrounding area, as well as the eastern outskirts of the city of Al-Hasakah. In early October 2014, ISIL launched a massive offensive, capturing some villages in the eastern Jazira Canton, with subsequent campaigns expanding ISIL control in the region into December 2014. In mid-December, the Syrian Army and the YPG engaged ISIL forces to the south of Qamishli, capturing a number of villages, but ISIL responded with a counter-offensive that resulted in them capturing multiple villages to the south and southeast of Tell Ma'ruf. In late December 2014, YPG forces retook control of some of the villages near the Yarubiyah-Rabia border crossing and to the southwest of the region, in support of
Peshmerga The Peshmerga ( ku, پێشمەرگه, Pêşmerge, lit=those who face death) is the Kurdish military forces of the autonomous Kurdistan Region of Iraq. According to the Constitution of Iraq, the Peshmerga, along with their security subsidiaries, ...
forces launching the Sinjar offensive. By the end of the offensive on 21 December, some of the ISIL-occupied villages near Jaz'ah had come under YPG assault.


The offensive

The offensive started on 21 February 2015, and by the next day, the Kurds quickly advanced within five kilometers of Tal Hamis, after capturing 23 farms and villages near the Abo Qasayeb area. Their assault was backed up by U.S. and allied Arab air support. Also, near the border with Iraq, the YPG captured two villages. The Kurdish
Peshmerga The Peshmerga ( ku, پێشمەرگه, Pêşmerge, lit=those who face death) is the Kurdish military forces of the autonomous Kurdistan Region of Iraq. According to the Constitution of Iraq, the Peshmerga, along with their security subsidiaries, ...
forces in Iraq shelled ISIL positions across the border, in coordination with the YPG during their advance. In response to the Kurdish offensive, on 23 February, ISIL launched a massive attack on a cluster of villages along the southern bank of the Khabur River around the town of
Tell Tamer Tell Tamer ( ar, تَلّ تَمْر, Tall Tamr, ku, گرێ خورما, Girê Xurma or Til Temir, syr, ܬܠ ܬܡܪ) also known as Tal Tamr or Tal Tamir, is a town in western al-Hasakah Governorate, northeastern Syria. It is the administrative c ...
, using around 3,000 fighters and multiple tanks, seizing 11 villages and kidnapping 220 Assyrian Christians by 26 February, according to the
SOHR , image = Syrian Observatory for Human Rights Logo.jpg , image_size = 200px , caption = The logo of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights , type = NGO , founded_date = , founder ...
. Local sources stated that 33–35 villages were captured and put the number of abducted Assyrians at 287–400. ISIL was reportedly withdrawing militants from other fronts in Syria, including the front at
Homs Homs ( , , , ; ar, حِمْص / ALA-LC: ; Levantine Arabic: / ''Ḥomṣ'' ), known in pre-Islamic Syria as Emesa ( ; grc, Ἔμεσα, Émesa), is a city in western Syria and the capital of the Homs Governorate. It is Metres above sea level ...
, to boost their assault at Tell Tamer. The Kurds managed to recapture several of the villages, but the fate of the Christians remained unknown. It was also reported that
Abu Omar al-Shishani Tarkhan Tayumurazovich Batirashvili ( ka, თარხან ბათირაშვილი; 11 January 1986 – 10 July 2016), known by his '' nom de guerre'' Abu Omar al-Shishani ( ar, أَبُو عُمَرَ ٱلشِّيشَانِيِّ, ...
, ISIL's field commander in Syria, was leading the assault at Tell Tamer. On 23 February, the YPG captured Tell Brak, during a pre-dawn raid On 25 February, the YPG cut the road between Tal Hamis and
al-Hawl Al-Hawl ( ar-at, ٱلْهَوْل, al-Hawl, lit="swampland"), also spelled al-Hole, al-Hol, al-Hool and al-Houl, is a town in eastern al-Hasakah Governorate, northeastern Syria, under control of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syr ...
, which was a main ISIL supply line from Iraq. By 27 February, Kurdish fighters managed to capture 103 villages and hamlets around the town of Tal Hamis, as well as Tal Hamis itself while on 1 March, Kurdish fighters reportedly burned a number of houses that belonged to ISIL militants or ISIL-allied fighters in two dozen Arab villages around Tal Hamis that they recaptured from ISIL. On 28 February, ISIL executed 15 Assyrian Christians, 14 of them fighters. Another 13 Christian fighters were being held. By 28 February, since the start of the offensive, the fighting had left at least 175–211 ISIL militants and 75 Kurdish and allied fighters dead. In the period during the offensive, between 21 February and 1 March, the US-led coalition conducted 24 airstrikes, striking 18 ISIL tactical units and destroying seven ISIL vehicles. Kurdish forces were reportedly planning to build on their advances and capture
Tell Abyad Tell Abyad; ku, گرێ سپی, Girê Spî; hy, Թել Աբյադ; syr, ܬܠ ܐܒܝܕ. is a town in northern Syria. It is the administrative center of the Tell Abyad District within the Raqqa Governorate. Located along the Balikh River, it const ...
, thus connecting the
Kobanî Canton Euphrates Region, formerly Kobanî Canton, ( ku, Herêma Firatê, ar, إقليم الفرات, syc, ܦܢܝܬܐ ܕܦܪܬ, translit=Ponyotho d'Prat) is the central of three original regions of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Sy ...
to the
Jazira Canton The Jazira Region, formerly Jazira Canton, ( ku, Herêma Cizîrê, ar, إقليم الجزيرة, syr, ܦܢܝܬܐ ܕܓܙܪܬܐ, Ponyotho d'Gozarto), is the largest of the Regions of Rojava, three original regions of the de facto Autonomous Adm ...
. In the meantime, on the same day that the Kurds captured Tal Hamis, Syrian government forces launched their own offensive against ISIL, and by 2 March, had captured 23–31 villages, with their ultimate aim being to take control of the main road linking the provincial capital of Al-Hasakah to the city of
Qamishli Qamishli ( ar, ٱلْقَامِشْلِي, Al-Qāmišlī, ku, قامشلۆ, Qamişlo, syc, ܒܝܬ ܙܠܝ̈ܢ, Bēṯ Zālīn, lit=House of Reeds or syr, ܩܡܫܠܐ, translit=Qamishlo)
. Another report put the number of captured villages at 33. 13 of the villages were seized within 24 hours of the start of the assault. Meanwhile, Kurdish-Arab allied forces were continuing to fight ISIL outside Tell Tamer. By 3 March, 24 of the kidnapped Christians were released by ISIL after ransoms were paid. On 4 March, Syrian government forces advanced further and captured several villages, while ISIL continued shelling Kurdish fighters near Tell Tamer. After the losses suffered in the previous days, ISIL forces retreated towards the areas of
al-Hawl Al-Hawl ( ar-at, ٱلْهَوْل, al-Hawl, lit="swampland"), also spelled al-Hole, al-Hol, al-Hool and al-Houl, is a town in eastern al-Hasakah Governorate, northeastern Syria, under control of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syr ...
and Shaddadi. On 6 March, the Syrian Army advanced down Highway 7 up to 15–20 kilometers from Tell Brak and stopped. It was also reported that fierce clashes between ISIL and the YPG had erupted to the east of Al-Hasakah city, as ISIL was trying to prevent Kurdish forces from reaching one of its last remaining strongholds in al-Hawl. The clashes from 5–6 March resulted in the deaths of 11 more YPG fighters. On 7 March, ISIL launched a massive attack on villages around Tell Tamer, with fears ISIL militants would use the kidnapped Assyrians as human shields. The attack began around dawn and targeted at least three villages on the northern bank of the Khabur River, with ISIL's aim being to capture Tell Tamer and secure a corridor to the Iraqi border. The next day, ISIL advanced close to the town and heavy fighting ensued, but Kurdish reinforcements arrived and they managed to repel the militants. The clashes left 40 dead on both sides. At the same time, ISIL launched an assault in an attempt to recapture several villages between Tell Brak and al-Hawl, which was also repelled, with the YPG claiming to have killed 67 ISIL militants. Meanwhile, Syrian government troops advanced further and captured five to nine villages. By this point, among Kurdish fighters killed in the offensive, there were three foreigners as well: an Australian, a Briton and a German female volunteer. On 10 March, the YPG announced that their campaign had ended successfully after securing the
Jazira Canton The Jazira Region, formerly Jazira Canton, ( ku, Herêma Cizîrê, ar, إقليم الجزيرة, syr, ܦܢܝܬܐ ܕܓܙܪܬܐ, Ponyotho d'Gozarto), is the largest of the Regions of Rojava, three original regions of the de facto Autonomous Adm ...
. However, on the same day, ISIL launched a surprise attack on Tell Khanzir, about 30 kilometers to the west of
Ras al-Ayn Ras al-Ayn ( ar, رَأْس ٱلْعَيْن, Raʾs al-ʿAyn, ku, سەرێ کانیێ, Serê Kaniyê, syc, ܪܝܫ ܥܝܢܐ, Rēš Aynā), also spelled Ras al-Ain, is a city in al-Hasakah Governorate in northeastern Syria, on the Syria–Turkey ...
, near the Turkish border in west Hasakah, capturing the town along with several other villages. It was reported that ISIL had deployed hundreds of battle-hardened Chechens from its Khorasan Battalion to carry out the assault. Fierce clashes also erupted in and around Manajir, to the west of Tell Tamer, as ISIL sought to strike northward. ISIL launched the assault to prevent Kurdish forces from reaching their stronghold of
al-Hawl Al-Hawl ( ar-at, ٱلْهَوْل, al-Hawl, lit="swampland"), also spelled al-Hole, al-Hol, al-Hool and al-Houl, is a town in eastern al-Hasakah Governorate, northeastern Syria, under control of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syr ...
, by occupying the Kurds on multiple fronts, attempting to seize another border crossing with Turkey, and due to fears that the Kurds would use Ras al-Ayn as a base to seize control of
Tell Abyad Tell Abyad; ku, گرێ سپی, Girê Spî; hy, Թել Աբյադ; syr, ܬܠ ܐܒܝܕ. is a town in northern Syria. It is the administrative center of the Tell Abyad District within the Raqqa Governorate. Located along the Balikh River, it const ...
, and link the Kobanî and
Jazira Canton The Jazira Region, formerly Jazira Canton, ( ku, Herêma Cizîrê, ar, إقليم الجزيرة, syr, ܦܢܝܬܐ ܕܓܙܪܬܐ, Ponyotho d'Gozarto), is the largest of the Regions of Rojava, three original regions of the de facto Autonomous Adm ...
s. ISIL also wanted control of Ras al-Ayn and Tell Tamer to control additional key routes that would link the ISIL-held Iraqi city of
Mosul Mosul ( ar, الموصل, al-Mawṣil, ku, مووسڵ, translit=Mûsil, Turkish: ''Musul'', syr, ܡܘܨܠ, Māwṣil) is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of Nineveh Governorate. The city is considered the second large ...
with other ISIL-controlled territory in northeastern Syria. On 12 March, the Kurds managed to repel the ISIL advance on Ras al-Ayn resulting in dozens of casualties on both sides. However, ISIL advanced towards Tell Tamer and captured the village of Tal Nasri, bringing the militants to within 500 meters of the town. The fighting near Tell Tamer left 22 Kurdish and 18 jihadist fighters dead. Two days later, the Kurds recaptured the village of Tal Maghas, near Tell Tamer; however, according to another report, ISIL managed to capture several more villages and crossed the Khabur River, in the area just northwest of Tell Tamer. The YPG demanded more Coalition airstrikes in the region, due to the fact that ISIL was deploying more reinforcements while the US-led Coalition had not conducted any airstrikes near Tell Tamer since 10 March. By this point, since the ISIL counterattack started on 10 March, the clashes in the Tell Tamer and Tell Khanzir areas had left at least 105 ISIL militants and 63 YPG fighters dead. On 13 March, the US-led Coalition resumed airstrikes in the region. On 16 March, the YPG advanced and captured some ISIL positions in the countryside around Tell Tamer. The same day, 100
Hezbollah Hezbollah (; ar, حزب الله ', , also transliterated Hizbullah or Hizballah, among others) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and militant group, led by its Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah since 1992. Hezbollah's parami ...
fighters arrived in Ras al-Ayn from Qamishli to support Kurdish forces, according to the pro-opposition Al-Hasakah Youth Union, and were soon after sent to the battlefield where they were outfitted with Kurdish uniforms. The next day, the Iranian
Fars News Agency The Fars News Agency is a news agency in Iran managed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), an armed wing loyal to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. While it describes itself as "Iran's leading independent news agency", it is widely descr ...
reported that the Syrian Army advanced and captured the town of Malaha, as well as its surrounding farm areas.


Aftermath

From 18 to 19 March, US-led Coalition airstrikes struck 3 ISIL tactical units, an ISIL fighting position, and an ISIL tunnel system in the area. On 20 March, more than 100 people were killed and wounded when an ISIL militant blew himself up at a celebration held by the Kurds for the festival of Nowruz, in the al-Mofti neighborhood of Al-Hasakah city, in addition to an IED explosion at another celebration in the city. Over the next several days, clashes erupted in the vicinity of Tell Khanzir, Tell Brak and Tell Tamer, killing dozens of ISIL militants, while fighter jets bombed ISIL positions in the city of Al-Shaddadeh. On 30 March, the National Defense Forces (NDF) reportedly captured 33 villages near the village of Tal Brak in rural Al-Hasakah, after fierce clashes with ISIL militants on 28 and 29 March. On the same day, Kurdish commander Jiwan Ibrahim, Chief of the Kurdish Asayish forces in Rojava, issued a warning to civilians in the recently regained towns of Tel Brak and Tel Hamis regarding Syrian government forces in the region: “To our people in Tel Brak and Tel Hamis, the Baathist regime (Assad’s regime) in Qamishli and Hasakah is spreading baseless news that it took entire control of both towns and handed them over to Kurdish forces. However, Kurds have fought against the radical group of the Islamic State (IS/ISIL) and forced the militants to withdraw from the towns, and Kurds are the ones who protect these towns. The regime militias weren’t engaged in the fighting against the IS group and they won’t provide any security assistance to the civilians”. On 3 April, ISIL reportedly lost another 21 villages to Syrian government forces, to the south of Qamishli.


See also

*
Sinjar massacre The Sinjar massacre () marked the beginning of the genocide of Yazidis by ISIL, the killing and abduction of thousands of Yazidi men, women and children. It took place in August 2014 in Sinjar city and Sinjar District in Iraq's Nineveh Governora ...
*
Northern Iraq offensive (August 2014) Between 1 and 15 August 2014, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) expanded territory in northern Iraq under their control. In the region north and west from Mosul, the Islamic State conquered Zummar, Zumar, Sinjar, Wana, Mosul Da ...
*
December 2014 Sinjar offensive The Sinjar offensive was a combination of operations of Kurdish Peshmerga, PKK and People's Protection Units forces in December 2014, to recapture regions formerly lost to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in their August offensive. In a ...
*
November 2015 Sinjar offensive The November Sinjar offensive was a combination of operations of Kurdish Peshmerga, PKK, and Yezidi militias in November 2015, to recapture the city of Sinjar from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. It resulted in a decisive victory for ...
*
Siege of Kobanî The siege of Kobanî was launched by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant on 13 September 2014, in order to capture the Kobanî Canton and its main city of Kobanî (also known as Kobanê or Ayn al-Arab) in northern Syria, in the ''de facto'' ...
*
Battle of Sarrin (March–April 2015) The Battle of Sarrin (March–April 2015) refers to a military operation during 2015 in the northeastern Aleppo Governorate, during the Syrian Civil War, conducted by Kurdish YPG and allied forces against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant ...
*
Qalamoun offensive (May–June 2015) The Qalamoun offensive (May–June 2015) was an offensive led by the Iranian-backed militia Hezbollah, supported by the Syrian Army, during the Syrian Civil War, against the al-Nusra Front and other Syrian opposition forces entrenched in ...
*
Palmyra offensive (May 2015) The Palmyra offensive of May 2015 was a military operation launched during the Syrian Civil War by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) on May 13–26, 2015, in an attempt to capture the government-held Tadmur District of the Homs ...
*
Western al-Hasakah offensive The Western al-Hasakah offensive, dubbed ''Operation Commander Rûbar Qamishlo'' by the Kurds, was a military operation during May 2015 in the Al-Hasakah Governorate, during the Syrian Civil War, conducted by Kurdish YPG and allied forces agains ...
*
Al-Hasakah city offensive The Al-Hasakah city offensive was launched during the Syrian Civil War by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or ISIS) against the city of Al-Hasakah, which was held by both the Syrian Armed Forces and the Kurdish YPG. Background ...
*
Tell Abyad offensive The Tell Abyad offensive or Martyr Rubar Qamışlo operation was a military operation that began in late May 2015 in the northern Raqqa Governorate, during the Syrian Civil War. It was conducted by the Kurdish-majority People's Protection Units ...
*
Battle of Sarrin (June–July 2015) The Battle of Sarrin (June–July 2015) was a military operation during 2015 in the northeastern Aleppo Governorate, during the Syrian Civil War, in which the Kurdish YPG and Free Syrian Army forces captured the town of Sarrin and the surrou ...
* Battle of al-Hasakah (2015) * 26 June 2015 Islamist attacks **
Kobanî massacre The Kobanî massacre was a combination of suicide missions and attacks on Kurdish civilians by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant on the Kurdish-majority city of Kobanî, beginning on Thursday, 25 June 2015, and culminating on Friday, 2 ...
* Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria *
International military intervention against ISIL In response to rapid territorial gains made by the so-called Islamic State during the first half of 2014, and its universally condemned executions, reported human rights abuses and the fear of further spillovers of the Syrian Civil War, many s ...
*
List of wars and battles involving ISIL The following is a list of conflicts involving the jihadist militant group known as the Islamic State (IS/ISIL/ISIS/Daesh), throughout its various incarnations. The group controlled portions of territory in Iraq and Syria in the mid-2010s and ha ...
*
List of terrorist incidents linked to ISIL The following is a list of major terrorist attacks and arrests that have been connected to or have been claimed in reliable sources to be inspired by the Islamic State (IS), also known by other names. Between June 2014, when the group self-pr ...


References


External links


Operation Inherent Resolve airstrike updates

ISIL frontline maps (Syria)

Khabur Valley Battle frontline maps
{{DEFAULTSORT:Al-Hasakah offensive (February–March 2015) Al-Hasakah Governorate in the Syrian civil war Military operations of the Syrian civil war in 2015 Military operations of the Syrian civil war involving Hezbollah Military operations of the Syrian civil war involving the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant Military operations of the Syrian civil war involving the People's Protection Units Military operations of the Syrian civil war involving the Peshmerga Military operations of the Syrian civil war involving the Syrian government