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 ...
Adnan Abdul Aziz Ahmed was born in 1977 in the city of Manbij in northern
Syria
Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...
, where he attended school. Adnan worked in his brother's pharmacy for 7 years.
Kurds
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 ...
in Tell Abyad, Tell Aran, and Tell Hasel, Adnan defected from the FSA group and joined the Kurdish Front.
In 2014, Adnan Abu Amjad joined the Northern Sun Battalion, whose leaders included Abu Layla. In late 2014, the Northern Sun Battalion withdrew from its headquarters in Manbij after 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 ...
took control of the city. While Abu Layla withdrew to Kobanî, Adnan headed to Afrin. In September 2014, Adnan was deployed to Kobanî to defend the city against an ISIL siege. After the recapture of Kobanî, Adnan fought in Tell Abyad and Ayn Issa in mid-2015.
2015–17
On 10 October 2015, Adnan Abu Amjad as the deputy commander of the Northern Sun Battalion became one of the founding members of the Syrian Democratic Forces. Under the SDF, he took part in offensives in al-Hawl, Tishrin Dam, and al-Shaddadi.
On 2 April 2016, Adnan announced the formation of the Manbij Military Council in Tishrin Dam, with himself as the general commander of the council. On 31 May, the council and allied SDF groups launched the Manbij offensive to capture the city from ISIL. On 2 August, Adnan Abu Amjad freed his parents in the city after almost 2 years. By 12 August, the SDF captured Manbij and the Manbij Military Council took over its security on 15 August. The offensive extended Westward toward Al-Bab in order to connect to Afrin but was stopped due to the Turkish/Rebels offensive on Al-Bab, the push northward by SAA, and the lack of support from the US.
Since late 2016, Adnan Abu Amjad led the Manbij Military Council in the SDF's Raqqa campaign against the Islamic State. The Battle of Raqqa city began on 6 June 2017. On 29 August 2017, Adnan Abu Amjad was killed in action during the battle, during which over half of the city was captured by the SDF. His funeral was held in Manbij 2 days later.