Al-Rai, Syria

Al-Rai (Arabic: الراعي, al-Ra'i or al-Rayi; Turkish: 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 Nahiya al-Rai. Located on the Baghdad Railway and close to the Turkish border, right across Elbeyli, it is however a strategically important town. The town of Akhtarin is some 15 kilometers (9.3 mi) to the southwest. Larger towns are Azaz, some 35 kilometers (22 mi) to the west, and Jarablus and Manbij, both some 45 kilometers (28 mi) to the east.

Prior to the Syrian Civil War, the town was inhabited primarily by Turkmen. These Turkmens belong to the Elbegli tribe.