The Aleppo offensive (July 2015) was a military operation launched by two rebel coalitions against the

Syrian Army The Syrian Army is the land force branch of the Syrian Armed Forces. Up until the fall of the Assad regime, the Syrian Arab Army existed as a land force branch of the Syrian Arab Armed Forces, which dominanted the military service of the fo ...

, during the Syrian Civil War, in the city of

Aleppo Aleppo is a city in Syria, which serves as the capital of the Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Governorates of Syria, governorate of Syria. With an estimated population of 2,098,000 residents it is Syria's largest city by urban area, and ...

. The aim of the operation was to breach Army defenses and enter, and potentially take, the government-held western half of the city.

The offensive

On 2 July, the major offensive was launched by two rebel coalitions, Fatah Halab and Ansar Sharia, the latter of which includes the

Al-Qaeda , image = Flag of Jihad.svg , caption = Jihadist flag, Flag used by various al-Qaeda factions , founder = Osama bin Laden{{Assassinated, Killing of Osama bin Laden , leaders = {{Plainlist, * Osama bin Lad ...

-linked

al-Nusra Front Al-Nusra Front or Jabhat al-Nusra or Jabhat Nusrat Ahl al-Sham, also known as Front for the Conquest of the Levant, and also later known as Jabhat Fatah al-Sham was a Salafi-jihadist organization that fought against Ba'athist Syria, Ba'athist ...

, with fighting focusing on the Jamiyat al-Zahra frontline. By the next day, the rebels seized some buildings in Jamiyat al-Zahra, but the advance was of no strategic importance and came at a cost of heavy casualties, with 35 rebels being killed amidst heavy air-strikes. At least 18 soldiers were killed in the fighting. In the evening, government troops managed to recapture the areas they lost. On 4 July, the Fatah Halab managed to seize the Scientific Research Center on Aleppo's western outskirts, thus overcoming the first major government fortification and potentially threatening government-held areas of Aleppo. Later during the day, government fighters launched a counter-attack against the Scientific Research Center, and managed to enter the eastern outskirts of the Center but were forced to retreat outside the complex's walls after heavy shelling. 12 more rebels and 12 soldiers were killed in the clashes. As of 5 July, the attack on Jamiyat al-Zahra had largely failed, while the military was still attempting to recapture the Center. On the evening of 6 July, a suicide bomber hit government positions in Jamiyat al-Zahra, leaving 25 government fighters dead. The ensuing fighting also left 19 rebels dead and opposition activists claimed rebel forces managed to capture several buildings. Fighting also continued at the Center. By 7 July, the renewed rebel attack on al-Zahra had been repelled, while the military reportedly used chlorine gas in an attempt to regain control of the Scientific Research Center. The opposition activist group the SOHR reported there were no casualties among the rebels since most of them were wearing gas masks.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aleppo offensive (2015 07) Aleppo in the Syrian civil war Military operations of the Syrian civil war in 2015 Military operations of the Syrian civil war involving the Syrian government Military operations of the Syrian civil war involving Hezbollah Military operations of the Syrian civil war involving the al-Nusra Front Military operations of the Syrian civil war involving the Free Syrian Army

The offensive

See also

References