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East Aleppo Offensive (2024–2025)
The East Aleppo offensive was an operation launched by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in December 2024 against the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) to secure territory that was lost during the Manbij offensive and to advance from Dayr Hafir into the Tishrin Dam area. The fighting took place in the context of the Turkish offensive in northern Syria and was part of the longer term conflict between Turkey (and its local allies) and the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (DAANES), occurring in the aftermath of the fall of the Assad regime. The fighting resulted in the SDF securing both bridges, Tishrin Dam and surrounding areas. Tishrin Dam and other areas were later handed over to the Syrian transitional government on 12 April, following a peace agreement. Background Following the SNA capture of Manbij city on 11 December, a temporary ceasefire agreement in the region was reached between the SNA and SDF through U.S. mediation. However, m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Selçuk Bayraktaroğlu
Selçuk Bayraktaroğlu (born 9 March 1961) is a Turkish general who has been the 53rd and current commander of the Turkish Land Forces since 16 August 2023. Biography Bayraktaroglu was born in Artvin, Turkey on 9 March 1961. He obtained his graduation from Kuleli Military High School in 1977. Bayraktaroglu completed his studies at the Turkish Military Academy in 1981, graduating as a signal officer. He was subsequently promoted to the rank of second lieutenant after he went on to complete his specialized training in 1982. From 1982 to 1991, he served in different signal units, holding the positions of platoon and company commander. In 1993, he completed his studies at the Army War College, followed by graduation from the Armed Forces College in 1997. From 1993 to 2009, he served in various staff officer roles at military units and headquarters. In 2009, Bayraktaroglu was promoted to brigadier general and took on the role of commander of the 9th Commando Brigade, serving ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Institute For The Study Of War
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) is an American nonprofit research group and advocacy think tank founded in 2007 by military historian Kimberly Kagan and headquartered in Washington, D.C. ISW provides research and analysis of modern armed conflicts and foreign affairs. It has produced reports on the Syrian civil war, the War in Afghanistan, and the Iraq War, "focusing on military operations, enemy threats, and political trends in diverse conflict zones". ISW currently publishes daily updates on the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the Gaza war. ISW also published daily updates on Mahsa Amini protests in Iran. ISW was founded in response to the stagnation of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and core funding to the group is provided by US military contractors. Political stance and influence Journalists for ''Politico'', ''Time'', ''Wired'', ''Vox'' and ''The Guardian'' have described the group's orientation as " hawkish", while writers for NPR described its position as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sultan Mehmed The Conqueror Brigade
Syrian Turkmen Brigades (; ), also called the United Turkmen Army (; ), are an informal armed opposition structure composed of Syrian Turkmen that form the military wing of the Syrian Turkmen Assembly, primarily fighting against the Syrian Arab Armed Forces, Islamic State (IS) and the Syrian Democratic Forces. They are aligned with the Syrian opposition and are heavily supported by Turkey, which provides funding and military training along with artillery and aerial support. The groups represent a wide spectrum of ideologies from Islamism to secular Turkish nationalism. History In November 2015, Syrian Turkmen Brigades and al-Nusra Front fighters were engaged in heavy fighting in the Bayırbucak region against the Syrian government forces supported by the Hezbollah militia and the Russian Air Force. Turkmen forces have been the target of heavy Russian bombing in 2015, with reported civilian casualties which have been interpreted as a Russian effort aiming to change the ethnic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sultan Suleiman Shah Brigade
The Sultan Suleiman Shah Division (), is a Turkish-backed faction in Syria operating under the Syrian National Army in the Syrian civil war. The group is also known as Suleiman Shah Brigade, and Amsha or al-Amshat after the nom de guerre of its commander, Mohammed al-Jassem. The group committed many crimes throughout its existence, these include looting, extortion, kidnapping, rape and forced displacement. The group was sanctoned by United States for its human rights abuses in Afrin region. The group also participated in 2025 massacres of Syrian Alawites. History The group was founded by Mohammed al-Jassem, a former commander of Free Syrian Army-affiliated militias. The group claims to have more than 2000 fighters which it trains in camps in northern Aleppo. In the early days of Syrian civil war, al-Jassem founded a rebel group called "Line of Fire Brigade", it was mainly composed of his Bani Jamil clan. Line of Fire Brigade initially aligned with the Free Syrian Army a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sultan Murad Division
The Sultan Murad Division (; ''Firqat al-Sultan Murad''; ) is a Syrian Turkmen rebel group fighting in the Syrian Civil War. It is aligned with the Syrian Interim Government and heavily supported by Turkey, who provides funding and military training along with artillery and aerial support. It is the most notable group among Syrian Turkmen Brigades also supported by Turkey. Ideology and structure The Sultan Murad Division is one of several Syrian rebel groups that support or at least tolerate Islamist, Turkish nationalist or pan-Turkic ideologies like Neo-Ottomanism and Turanism. Among the commanders of the group are Ahmed Othman, Fahim Issa and Ali Åžeyh Salih, who is an ethnic Arab. Equipment Among the Syrian rebel groups participating in the Turkish military intervention in Syria, the Sultan Murad Division is the group that receives the most support from the Turkish Armed Forces. It operates at least 8 FNSS ACV-15 armoured personnel carriers during the operation. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Syrian National Army
The Syrian National Army (SNA; ), also known as the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army (TFSA), is a coalition of armed Syrian opposition groups that participate in the Syrian civil war. Comprising various rebel factions that emerged at the start of the war in July 2011, it was officially established in 2017 under the auspices of Turkey, who provides funding, training, and military support. The SNA emerged out of the Free Syrian Army (FSA), a loose collection of armed opposition groups founded on 29 July 2011 by defected Syrian military officers. After Turkey formally condemned the regime of Bashar al-Assad in November 2011, it provided arms, training, and sanctuary to the FSA. Initially the principal opponent of the Syrian government, the FSA was gradually weakened by infighting, lack of funding, and rival Islamist groups. In August 2016, Turkey began assembling a new coalition of Syrian rebel groups, which included many former FSA fighters, in an effort to create a more co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Martyr Haroun Units
The Martyr Haroun Units (Kurdish: Yekineyên Åžehîd Harûn, Arabic: ÙˆØدات الشهيد هارون), is an air unit of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) that specializes in drone warfare. It was named in honor of Harûn QamiÅŸlo, who lost his life resisting the Syrian National Army (SNA) during the 2024 Manbij offensive. Following release of FPV drone footage, fundraising initiatives by the Kurdish youth, such as "Drones For Rojava", began appearing to fund the purchase and transfer of DJI Mavic drones to the SDF. History First appearance The Martyr Haroun Units first emerged during the battles around the Manbij countryside in December 2024. Since then, they have been conducting reconnaissance and striking operations along the Tishrin Dam, Qara Qozak Bridge and Dayr Hafir frontline against the SNA and the Turkish Armed Forces. The military actions of the drone force have played a vital role in keeping the SNA west of the Euphrates The Euphrates ( ; ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Women's Protection Units
The Women's Protection Units (YPJ) or Women's Defense Units is an all-female militia involved in the Syrian civil war. The YPJ is part of the Syrian Democratic Forces, the armed forces of the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, and is closely affiliated with the male-led YPG. While the YPJ is mainly made up of Kurds, it also includes women from other ethnic groups in Northern Syria. History Women have been involved in Syrian Kurdish Resistance fighting since as early as 2011, when the mixed-sex YXG was founded, later to be renamed YPG in 2012. The YPJ was founded as a strictly women's organization on 4 April 2013 with the first battalion formed in Jindires and later expanded its activities towards the Euphrates Region, Kobane and Jazira Region, Jazira cantons. All female fighters who were previously part of the YPG mixed units automatically became members of the YPJ. Initially, there was just one YPJ battalion in each of the three cantons of Rojava, b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 mostly consists of Kurds, but also includes Arabs and YPG International, foreign volunteers; it is closely allied to the Syriac Military Council, an Assyrian people, Assyrian militia. The YPG was formed in 2011. It expanded rapidly in the Syrian Civil War and came to predominate over other armed Syrian Kurdish groups. A sister militia, the Women's Protection Units (YPJ), fights alongside them. The YPG is active in the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (Rojava), particularly in Syrian Kurdistan, its Kurdish regions. In early 2015, the group won a major victory over the Islamic State (IS) during the siege of Kobanî, where the YPG began to receive air and ground support from the United States and other Combined Joint Task Force †... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Syrian Democratic Forces Military Councils
The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) has many military councils for local security and defense, each being accountable to the civil council of the area they operate in. In 2016, the Syrian Democratic Forces established four military councils (three west of the Euphrates) in order to facilitate and conduct military operations; the Manbij Military Council, the al-Bab Military Council, the Jarabulus Military Council, and the Deir ez-Zor Military Council. In 2017, the Idlib Military Council was founded in an attempt to gain influence in Idlib Governorate, much of which is controlled by Turkish-backed opposition groups. In 2019, the SDF started to form new military councils in order to both decentralize the SDF, and to unify the military and security forces in the region. As of June 2019, the military councils formed during this decentralization are the Kobanî Military Council, the Tal Abyad Military Council, the Tabqa Military Council, the al-Hawl Military Council, the Qamishl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Manbij Military Council
The Manbij Military Council (MMC) is a coalition established by several groups in the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), primarily the Northern Sun Battalion, on 2 April 2016 at the Tishrin Dam on the Euphrates. The MMC led the SDF's Manbij offensive from June 2016 that led to the capture of the city of Manbij from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant two months later. Most fighters in the MMC are from Manbij and the surrounding areas. History 2016 The Manbij offensive has included the Manbij Military Council, US special operations forces, and minimal YPG and YPJ involvement assisted by US-led coalition airstrikes. The SDF fighters are mostly Arabs. During the offensive, an SDF fighter gave his perspective as "we have Arabs, Kurds, nobody knows how many exactly, we all work under the SDF-forces". On 5 April 2016, a civilian council was formed in the town of Sarrin by individuals originally from Manbij who had fled when Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) took ov ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
