ar, لواء السلاجقة , war = the Syrian Civil War , image = Flag of the Seljuq Brigade.svg , image_alt = border , caption = Flag of the Seljuk Brigade , active = 2013 – Unknown , ideology = , clans = Hammam Turkmen Martyrs Brigade , leaders = *Col. Talal Ali Silo until November 2017 *Hani al-Mullah , headquarters =

Al-Rai, Syria Al-Rai ( ar, الراعي, ''al-Ra'i'' or ''al-Rayi''; tr, Çobanbey), is a small town in northern Aleppo Governorate, northern Syria. With 4,609 inhabitants, as per the 2004 census, al-Rai is the administrative center of the sparsely populated ...

(formerly) , area = , size = , partof =

Free Syrian Army The Free Syrian Army (FSA) ( ar, الجيش السوري الحر, al-jaysh as-Sūrī al-ḥur) is a loose faction in the Syrian Civil War founded on 29 July 2011 by officers of the Syrian Armed Forces with the goal of bringing down the governm ...

Syrian Turkmen Brigades Syrian Turkmen Brigades ( tr, Suriye Türkmen Tugayları; ), also called the United Turkmen Army ( tr, Birleşik Türkmen Ordusu; ), are an informal armed opposition structure composed of Syrian Turkmen and Turks that form the military wing of ...

(2013–2015)

Syrian Democratic Forces , war = the Syrian Civil War , image = Flag of Syrian Democratic Forces.svgborder , caption = Flag , active = 10 October 2015 – present , ideology = DemocracyDecentralizationSecularism ...

Al-Bab Military Council The al-Bab Military Council (BMC) is an ethnically mixed force of the Syrian Democratic Forces, consisting of Kurdish, Arab, and Turkmen militias from northern Aleppo Governorate. The BMC currently maintains a presence in several villages west o ...

Army of Revolutionaries The Army of Revolutionaries ( ar, جيش الثوار, Jayš al-Thuwwār), 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 ...

(2015–present) , predecessor = , successor = , allies = People's Protection Units Flag

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 ...

(2015–present)
(2013–2015) , opponents = , battles = Syrian Civil War * Opposition–ISIL conflict during the Syrian Civil War *

2015 Al-Hawl offensive 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 rural area, countryside from the Islamic State of Iraq a ...

* Turkish military intervention in Syria **

Battle of al-Bab 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 (including groups affiliated with the Free Syrian Army) and the Turkish Armed Forces north of a ...

Battle of Raqqa (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 ...

, url = , image_size = 200px , groups = The Seljuk Brigade ( tr, Selçuklular Tugayı, ar, لواء السلاجقة) is or was a

Syrian Turkmen Syrian Turkmen, also referred to as Syrian Turkomans, Turkish Syrians, or simply Syrian Turks or Turks of Syria, ( ar, تركمان سوريا; tr, Suriye Türkmenleri or ) are Syrian citizens of Turkish people, Turkish origin who mainly trace ...

rebel group participating in the Syrian Civil War, named after the

Seljuk Turks The Seljuk dynasty, or Seljukids ( ; fa, سلجوقیان ''Saljuqian'', alternatively spelled as Seljuqs or Saljuqs), also known as Seljuk Turks, Seljuk Turkomans "The defeat in August 1071 of the Byzantine emperor Romanos Diogenes by the Turk ...

History

The Seljuk Brigade was founded in early 2013 in the northern

Aleppo Governorate Aleppo Governorate ( ar, محافظة حلب / ALA-LC: ''Muḥāfaẓat Ḥalab'' / ) is one of the fourteen governorates of Syria. It is the most populous governorate in Syria with a population of more than 4,867,000 (2011 Est.), almost 23% of the ...

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

Talal Ali Silo and was temporary a part of the Suleyman Shah Brigade. It was initially based in the mainly-Turkmen village of al-Rai, before its capture by the

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) in January 2014. As with the other

, the group was supplied and armed by

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

, although tensions occurred between them after the capture of al-Rai due to Turkey favouring the

Fatih Sultan Mehmed Mehmed II ( ota, محمد ثانى, translit=Meḥmed-i s̱ānī; tr, II. Mehmed, ; 30 March 14323 May 1481), commonly known as Mehmed the Conqueror ( ota, ابو الفتح, Ebū'l-fetḥ, lit=the Father of Conquest, links=no; tr, Fâtih Su ...

Brigade in

Jarabulus Jarabulus ( ar, جَرَابُلُس / ALA-LC: ''Jarābulus'', Aleppo dialect: ''Jrāblos''; tr, Cerablus) is a Syrian city administratively belonging to Aleppo Governorate, under the de-facto control of the Syrian Opposition. Jarabulus lies on ...

, sending only a limited amount of arms to the Seljuk Brigade. It then joined the

in August 2015, which became part of the

in October 2015. The group's commander,

Talal Silo Talal Ali Silo (; also transliterated ''Telal Silo'', ''Talal Sallou'') is a Syrian Turkmen military personnel who was the official Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) spokesperson from 2014 until his surrender or defection to Turkey in November 2017, ...

, was present at the SDF formation announcement; furthermore, he announced the SDF's

. In November 2017, Silo surrendered to

. Unlike other Turkmen rebel groups, they are allied with the Kurdish

. The Seljuk Brigade in

Manbij Manbij ( ar, مَنْبِج, Manbiǧ, ku, مەنبج, Minbic, tr, Münbiç, Menbic, or Menbiç) is a city in the northeast of Aleppo Governorate in northern Syria, 30 kilometers (19 mi) west of the Euphrates. In the 2004 census by the Cent ...

condemned the Turkish military intervention in Syria in late August 2016. On 10 September 2016 one of the brigade's commanders, Hani al-Mullah, died of a

gunshot A gunshot is a single discharge of a gun, typically a man-portable firearm, producing a visible flash, a powerful and loud shockwave and often chemical gunshot residue. The term can also refer to a ballistic wound caused by such a discharg ...

to the head in the 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 const ...

Raqqa Is Being Slaughtered Silently Raqqa Is Being Slaughtered Silently (RSS or RBSS) is a citizen journalist group reporting Syrian war news and human rights abuses by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and other forces occupying the northern Syrian city of Raqqa which I ...

claimed that his death was the result of

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

, although other sources dispute this and allege that the killing was an

assassination Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have ...

, either by the Turkish

National Intelligence Organization The National Intelligence Organization ( tr, Millî İstihbarat Teşkilatı, MİT) is the state intelligence agency of Turkey. Established in 1965 to replace National Security Service, its aim is to gather information about the current and po ...

and Turkish rebels or by ISIL militants. As a result, a

curfew A curfew is a government order specifying a time during which certain regulations apply. Typically, curfews order all people affected by them to ''not'' be in public places or on roads within a certain time frame, typically in the evening and ...

was imposed in Tell Abyad.

References

{{Syrian Civil War Anti-government factions of the Syrian civil war Anti-ISIL factions in Syria Syrian Democratic Forces Syrian Turkmen organizations Turkish supported militant groups of the Syrian civil war