The Battle of Tel Abyad was a raid by 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 ...
on the
YPG-held town 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 cons ...
at the end of February 2016, during the
Syrian Civil War.
Background
In July 2015, Tel Abyad, previously held by IS, was
captured by YPG militias linking together the Kurdish
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 three original regions of the de facto Autonomous Administration of Nor ...
. Since then the majority-Arab town has been absorbed into the
Kobane 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 ...
.
Battle
According to
the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a month before the battle's beginning a large number of ISIL
sleeper agents
A sleeper agent, also called sleeper cell, is a spy who is placed in a target country or organization not to undertake an immediate mission but to act as a potential asset if activated. Even if unactivated, the "sleeper agent" is still an asset ...
disguised as civilians and
SDF or YPG fighters entered Tell Abyad. Most of them were so-called "
Caliphate Cubs" or ISIL units of
child soldiers.
On 27 February 2016, at around 23:00 local time (9 pm GMT),
over a hundred
Islamic State
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 ...
militants attacked the
YPG controlled town 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 cons ...
(Gire Spi in
Kurdish
Kurdish may refer to:
*Kurds or Kurdish people
*Kurdish languages
*Kurdish alphabets
*Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes:
**Southern Kurdistan
**Eastern Kurdistan
**Northern Kurdistan
**Western Kurdistan
See also
* Kurd (dis ...
), a key crossing along the Syrian-Turkish border, just hours after a general ceasefire in Syria took effect. According to YPG military spokesperson Redur Xelil, the attack was not to re-take Tal Abyad but to cut the Kurdish Cantons in half and do as much damage possible, reminiscent to the
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 ...
.
The battle began when ISIL fighters infiltrated the suburbs of Tel Abyad, storming dozens of homes in the villages of Hamam Turkman and Ain al-Arous, and executing 23 civilians. A YPG spokesman claimed that some of the ISIL attackers had crossed from Turkey to attack the town. Turkey quickly denied this claim. Russian Lt. Gen. Sergei Kuralenko the head of
Russia’s reconciliation monitoring center in Latakia, said that the assault on Tal Abyad involved up to 100 armed militants with heavy artillery support from Turkish territory. Other YPG sources claimed that Turkey had supplied ISIL fighters with both modern western equipment and information.
The two pronged offensive was launched against the Kurdish positions in the East of the city, with ISIS using car bombs to attack checkpoints and mortar fire originating in
Raqqa
Raqqa ( ar, ٱلرَّقَّة, ar-Raqqah, also and ) (Kurdish: Reqa/ ڕەقە) is a city in Syria on the northeast bank of the Euphrates River, about east of Aleppo. It is located east of the Tabqa Dam, Syria's largest dam. The Hellenistic, ...
. The SDF headquarters in Tel Abyad was targeted and 5 other villages; Sharghrat, Kantari, Nastleh, Ghuwera and Qantrah were attacked.
As ISIL overran large parts of the city, they also encircled a YPG headquarters near the Syrian-Turkish borders, where they captured Khaled Daham al Bashir. Khaled, who had fought ISIL with the
Free Syrian Army in Deir ez-Zor before, was the cousin of Raghib al Bashir, head of al-Baqara tribe in the
Deir ez-Zor Governorate. After his capture, he and three other SDF fighters were executed, with images of his beheading being posted by ISIL on his personal Facebook account.
During the battle ISIS fighters captured roughly 70% of the town (according to Turkish military officials) as well as the National Hospital and administrative buildings of Tal Abyad.
Kurdish officials stated they were successful in repelling the attack and holding the town with the support of ten U.S
Combined Joint Task Force
Combined may refer to:
* Alpine combined (skiing), the combination of slalom and downhill skiing as a single event
** Super combined (skiing)
* Nordic combined (skiing), the combination of cross country skiing and ski jumping as a single event
* T ...
airstrikes, and heavy reinforcements from mostly local Arab fighters from
Jaysh al-Thuwar, also part of the "Self-Defense Forces".
The offensive ended on 1 March, when the attack was repelled. According to the YPG, the bodies of 140 ISIS fighters were left behind.
[ This toll was later raised to 291.] The SDF gave their death toll as 43, mostly YPG fighters, and 23 civilians killed. The SOHR gave a differing death toll, in which 140 ISIS fighters died attacking the town along with 47 YPG and 15 civilians.[
Mehmet Yuksel, a representative of the Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party to the United States argued that Ankara hired the attackers from Syrian refugee camps in Turkey.
In response to the attack, the SDF launched "Revenge of Êlîn and Cûdî" (named after two Kurdish children in the Tel Abyad attack) on 3 March, the fourth major offensive against ISIL forces to the southRojava Weekly News Briefing – Support Kurds in Syria – SKS]
/ref> that successfully reclaimed, with little resistance, open ISIL territory, hamlets and villages in southeastern Tell Abyad District
Tell Abyad District ( ar, منطقة تل أبيض, Manṭiqat Tall Abyaḍ; ku, Devera Girê Spî) is a district of the Raqqa Governorate in northern Syria. The administrative centre is the city of Tell Abyad. Parts of the district are currently ...
, northern Deir ez-Zor District
Deir ez-Zor District ( ar-at, منطقة دير الزور, manṭiqat Dair az-Zaur) is a district of the Deir ez-Zor Governorate in northeastern Syria. The administrative centre is the city of Deir ez-Zor
, population_urban =
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and western Al-Hasakah District
Al-Hasakah District ( ar, منطقة الحسكة, manṭiqat al-Ḥasaka) is a district of al-Hasakah Governorate in northeastern Syria. The administrative centre for the district is the city of al-Hasakah
Al-Hasakah ( ar, ٱلْحَسَكَة ...
. The two-pronged operation concluded sometime after SDF forces converged at Muqman in Deir ez-Zor District in 8 March, moving the Kurdish frontline closer towards the ISIL stronghold of Raqqa
Raqqa ( ar, ٱلرَّقَّة, ar-Raqqah, also and ) (Kurdish: Reqa/ ڕەقە) is a city in Syria on the northeast bank of the Euphrates River, about east of Aleppo. It is located east of the Tabqa Dam, Syria's largest dam. The Hellenistic, ...
and the besieged city of Deir ez-Zor
, population_urban =
, population_density_urban_km2 =
, population_density_urban_sq_mi =
, population_blank1_title = Ethnicities
, population_blank1 =
, population_blank2_title = Religions
, population_blank2 =
...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tel Abyad
Military operations of the Syrian civil war in 2016
Military operations of the Syrian civil war involving the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
February 2016 events in Syria
March 2016 events in Syria
Military operations of the Syrian civil war involving the Syrian Democratic Forces
Military operations of the Syrian civil war involving the People's Protection Units
Battles of the Syrian civil war