The Kobanî massacre was a combination of suicide missions and attacks on
Kurd
Kurds (), or the Kurdish people, are an Iranian peoples, Iranic ethnic group from West Asia. They are indigenous to Kurdistan, which is a geographic region spanning southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran, northern Iraq, and northeastern Syri ...
ish civilians by the
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Daesh, is a transnational Salafi jihadist organization and unrecognized quasi-state. IS occupied signi ...
on the
Kurdish-majority city of
Kobanî, beginning on Thursday, 25 June 2015, and culminating on Friday, 26 June 2015. The attacks continued into 28 June 2015, with the last remaining ISIL militant being killed on the following day. The attacks resulted in 223–233 civilians dead, as well as 35–37 Kurdish militiamen
and at least 79 ISIL assailants.
It was the second-largest
massacre
A massacre is an event of killing people who are not engaged in hostilities or are defenseless. It is generally used to describe a targeted killing of civilians Glossary of French words and expressions in English#En masse, en masse by an armed ...
committed by ISIL since it declared a
caliphate
A caliphate ( ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with Khalifa, the title of caliph (; , ), a person considered a political–religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of ...
in June 2014.
Background
The
People's Protection Units
The People's Defense Units (YPG), also called People's Protection Units, is a libertarian socialist US-backed Kurds in Syria, Kurdish militant group in Syria and the primary component of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
The YPG mostl ...
(YPG) captured Kobanê on 19 July 2012.
Since July 2012, Kobanê has been under Kurdish control, while the YPG and Kurdish politicians anticipate autonomy for the area, which they consider part of
Rojava. After similar less intense events earlier in 2014, on 2 July the town and surrounding villages came under a massive attack from fighters of the
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Daesh, is a transnational Salafi jihadist organization and unrecognized quasi-state. IS occupied signi ...
.
On 16 September, ISIL resumed its siege of Kobanê with a full-scale assault from the west and the south of the city.
The
Kobanî Canton was attacked by ISIL militants for several months. In September 2014, ISIL militants occupied most of Kobanî Canton, seizing more than 100
Kurdish villages.
As a consequence of the ISIL occupation, up to 200,000 Kurdish refugees fled from Kobanî Canton to Turkey.
In the captured villages, ISIL militants committed
massacre
A massacre is an event of killing people who are not engaged in hostilities or are defenseless. It is generally used to describe a targeted killing of civilians Glossary of French words and expressions in English#En masse, en masse by an armed ...
s and
kidnapped women.
ISIL militants, however, were not able to occupy the entire canton, as the
YPG and
YPJ forces managed to defend the city of Kobanî and a few nearby settlements. After a few weeks of "neutrality", the
US-led coalition began to target ISIL forces in Kobanî with a larger number of airstrikes, beginning on 5 October 2014. This move aided the YPG/YPJ in forcing ISIL to retreat from numerous parts of the city. The YPG reportedly forced ISIL to retreat from most of Kobanî on 26 January 2015, thus lifting the siege.
On 27 January 2015, YPG-led fighters had retaken the entire city of Kobanî. Since then, the city was under YPG control.
During May and June 2015, the YPG, FSA, and allied forces captured huge swaths of territory in northern Syria, taking territory across the western
Al-Hasakah province and the
Tell Abyad region, linking the Kurdish
Jazira
Jazira, al-Jazira, Jazeera, al-Jazeera, etc. are all transcriptions of Arabic language, Arabic meaning "the island" or "the peninsula".
The term may refer to:
Business
*Jazeera Airways, an airlines company based in Kuwait
Locations
* Al-Jazir ...
and
Kobanî Cantons.
Massacre
The attack began on 25 June 2015, when fighters from the
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Daesh, is a transnational Salafi jihadist organization and unrecognized quasi-state. IS occupied signi ...
detonated three
car bomb
A car bomb, bus bomb, van bomb, lorry bomb, or truck bomb, also known as a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED), is an improvised explosive device designed to be detonated in an automobile or other vehicles.
Car bombs can be roug ...
s in
Kobanî, close to the Turkish border crossing. Kurdish forces and the Syrian government claimed the vehicles had entered the city from across the Turkish side of the border, an action denied by Turkey.
An estimated force of 80–100 ISIL militants carried out the attack.
ISIL fighters in five vehicles entered Kobani under cover of darkness in the early hours of Thursday, June 25, disguised themselves as Kurdish security forces,
[ before infiltrating the city and shooting civilians with assault rifles and RPGs.]
ISIL also committed a massacre in the village of Barkh Butan, about 20 kilometres south of Kobanî, executing at least 23 Syrian Kurds, among them women and children. A Kurdish spokesman told the media on the next day that the militants were still pinned in three locations in the city of Kobani, including a field hospital.[ More than 100 hostages were reported being held by ISIL fighters or were trapped due to the crossfire.]
The battle in Kobanî city continued to rage for another 3 days, during which most of the ISIL attackers were killed, with 1 militant captured by the YPG, and only 7 escaping to Turkey.
During the afternoon of 29 June, the last remaining ISIL militant in Kobanî city was shot and killed.
Casualties
Over 164 people were initially reported dead and 200 injured, making the attack one of the largest killings of civilians in the North of Syria.[ The final death toll of the attack was 223+ civilians, with over 300 injured.]
Responses
– Redur Xelil, the spokesman of the People's Protection Units (YPG), said that "Daesh (Isis) is carrying out a collective suicide attack, not to control Kobani or occupy it, but to kill the largest possible number of civilians".[
– according to CNN Türk, Turkish president ]Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (born 26 February 1954) is a Turkish politician who is the 12th and current president of Turkey since 2014. He previously served as the 25th prime minister of Turkey, prime minister from 2003 to 2014 as part of the Jus ...
told a business group at a Ramadan-fast-breaking dinner that "No one has the right to portray Turkey as being on the same line as terrorism... after these reprehensible attacks, we see that circles close to the separatist organization, in other words, the political party, have undertaken a slanderous defamation campaign that knows no principles, morality nor bounds that targets our nation," referring to the HDP accusations.[
* Peoples' Democratic Party (Turkey) – "The Turkish government has supported ISIL for years. Today's massacre is a part of this support," said Figen Yuksekdag, the co-leader of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP).]
See also
* Siege of Kobanî
* Al-Hasakah offensive (February–March 2015)
* Al-Hasakah offensive (May 2015)
* Tell Abyad offensive (2015)
* Battle of Sarrin (March–April 2015)
* Battle of Sarrin (June–July 2015)
* 2015 Ramadan attacks
* Battle of Al-Hasakah (June–August 2015)
* Syrian Kurdish–Islamist conflict (2013–present)
* List of terrorist incidents, 2015
References
External links
Operation Inherent Resolve airstrike updates
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kobanî massacre
Massacres of Kurds
Massacres in Syrian Kurdistan
ISIL terrorist incidents in Syria
massacre
A massacre is an event of killing people who are not engaged in hostilities or are defenseless. It is generally used to describe a targeted killing of civilians Glossary of French words and expressions in English#En masse, en masse by an armed ...
Massacres of the Syrian civil war in 2015
June 2015 crimes in Asia
Massacres of the Syrian civil war perpetrated by ISIL
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
Military operations of the Syrian civil war involving the People's Defense Units
Military operations of the Syrian civil war involving the United States
Persecution of Kurds in Syria
Suicide car and truck bombings in Syria
Terrorist incidents in Syria in 2015
Car and truck bombings in 2015
Suicide bombings in 2015
Hostage taking in Syria