The Tishrin Dam offensive, or Southern Kobanî offensive, was a military operation in the northeastern

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 ...

during the Syrian Civil War, conducted by the

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

(SDF) to capture the strategic

Tishrin Dam The Tishrin Dam ( ar, سد تشرين, Sadd Tišrīn, lit=October Dam, ku, بەنداڤا تشرین, Bendava Tişrîn, syc, ܣܟܪܐ ܕܬܫܪܝܢ, Sekro d'Teshrin) is a dam on the Euphrates, located east of Aleppo in Aleppo Governorate, Syri ...

and the southern

countryside In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, ...

of the self-declared

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 ...

from 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). The

Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF–OIR) is a multinational military formation established by the U.S.-led international coalition against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) with the stated aim to "d ...

supported the SDF offensive with over 26 airstrikes.

Background

The offensive

On 23 December, the joint command of the Syrian Democratic Forces officially launched the offensive, with the goal to "clear all areas in southern

that have been occupied by elements of the terrorist group known as Daesh (ISIS)". On 24 December, the SDF captured the villages of Sahrij, Al Jabal, Abaydad, Al Mansia, Miruha, Sajjadi, Dandoshan, Birdan and over fifteen farmlands south of the town of

Sarrin Sarrin ( ar, صرين, also spelled Serrin or Sareen) is a town in northern Syria, administratively part of the Aleppo Governorate, located northeast of Aleppo. It is situated 3 kilometers east of the Euphrates River, south of Kobanî and east ...

, which was captured by the YPG and Free Syrian Army earlier in the same year, during the Battle of Sarrin. 14 ISIL members and 2 SDF fighters were killed during the battles. On 25 December, the alliance of Kurdish, Arab and Assyrian militias seized the villages of Bojakh, Hafyan, Munsiye, Sofayte, Saqit, Dahr Al–Faraj and the surrounding farms from ISIL. During a nighttime raid, 12 ISIL members were killed. At that point, the SDF had managed to capture 16 km along the east bank of the

Euphrates The Euphrates () is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Tigris–Euphrates river system, Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia ( ''the land between the rivers'') ...

. On 26 December, the Syrian Democratic Forces captured the

and the villages of Bir Shumal, Bir Bagar, Abdilkiye,

Tal Banat Tal Banat (also written Tel Benat, ar, تل بنات; ku, ته‌ل به‌نات, translit=Tel Benat, also known in Arabic as ''al-Waleed'') is a village located in the Sinjar District of the Ninawa Governorate in Iraq. The village is located s ...

, Khishkhash, Al-Wesi and Miwelih. The SDF managed to kill five ISIL fighters and captured another eight alive. A total of 50 villages were seized from ISIL during the first four days of the offensive. On 27 December, the SDF advanced on the western bank of the

. They captured the towns of Tishrin and Sakaniya. At least 15 members of ISIL were killed during the operation.Kurdish-Arab join forces advance against ISIS north Aleppo
/ref> On the same day ISIL executed four young men in Manbij who were accused of being members of the SDF.Four young men executed in main Manbij square
/ref> On 30 December, the general command of the Syrian Democratic Forces declared the end of the operation to liberate the southern areas of the

. The SDF captured over 100 villages and hamlets, the Tishrin Dam, an area of ~640 km², and killed 219 ISIL fighters, according to a balance sheet released by the SDF. An additional 100 ISIL fighters were killed by Coalition airstrikes during the offensive.Iraqi Flag Waves Over Ramadi; Security Forces Control Key City
/ref> Seven SDF members and two members of the police force Asayish died during the operation.

References

External links

The YPG’s Next Move: A Two Front War for the Manbij Pocket
{{coord, 36.3814, N, 38.1786, E, source:wikidata, display=title Military operations of the Syrian civil war in 2015 Military operations of the Syrian civil war involving the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant Aleppo Governorate in the Syrian civil war 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 Ayn al-Arab District Manbij District

Background

The offensive

See also

References

External links