Atme ( ar, اطمه, ‘Aṭma, also spelled Atma, Atima, Atmeh) is a town in northern Syria, administratively part of the Idlib Governorate, located north of Idlib and just east of the
border
Borders are usually defined as geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other subnational entities. Political borders c ...
with
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...
. It lies southeast of Deir Ballut, south of Jindires, northwest of Qah and north of
The Olive Tree Camp is a refugee camp that emerged during the Syrian Civil War. According to
Bianet
Bianet (acronym for tr, Bağımsız İletişim Ağı, lit="Independent Communication Network") is a Turkish press agency based in Beyoğlu, Istanbul. Its focus is on human rights and it is mainly funded by a Swedish organization. It was establish ...
. about 80'000 people shall life in tents in the camp. Since October 201, internally displaced Syrians who failed to cross over to Turkey started settling between the olive trees. A new wave of refugees was triggered by the Syrian offensive in 2019.
A 150-year-old oak tree in Atme was cut down by members of the
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
An Islamic state is a state that has a form of government based on Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a translation of the Arabic term ...
in November 2013. They accused the locals of venerating the tree instead of
God
In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...
US special forces
The United States Army Special Forces (SF), colloquially known as the "Green Berets" due to their distinctive service headgear, are a special operations force of the United States Army.
The Green Berets are geared towards nine doctrinal mis ...
on a house in Atme on February 3, 2022. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, thirteen other people, including seven civilians, died during the raid, which was noted by the media for its intensity.
Many of the local residents were "shocked" about the presence of Quraishi in the town, including Quraishi's landlord, who was unaware that his tenant was the leader of ISIL.