, image=YAT emblem.png , caption= , country=

Democratic Federation of Northern Syria The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES), also known as Rojava, is a de facto autonomous region in northeastern Syria. It consists of self-governing Regions of North and East Syria, sub-regions in the areas of Afrin Region ...

, type=

Special forces Special forces and special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...

, branch=

People's Protection Units The People's Defense Units (YPG), (YPG) ; ar, وحدات حماية الشعب, Waḥdāt Ḥimāyat aš-Šaʽb) also called People's Protection Units, is a mainly- Kurdish militia in Syria and the primary component of the Syrian Democ ...

(YPG)

Women's Protection Units (YPJ) ar, وحدات حماية المرأة , image = File:YPJ Flag.svg , caption = Flag of the YPJ , dates = April 2013–present , commander1 = Nesrin ...

(YPJ) , dates=2014–present , specialization=

Counter-insurgency Counterinsurgency (COIN) is "the totality of actions aimed at defeating irregular forces". The Oxford English Dictionary defines counterinsurgency as any "military or political action taken against the activities of guerrillas or revolutionar ...

Counter-terrorism Counterterrorism (also spelled counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, incorporates the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that Government, governments, law enforcement, business, and Intelligence agency, intellig ...

Direct action Direct action originated as a political activist term for economic and political acts in which the actors use their power (e.g. economic or physical) to directly reach certain goals of interest, in contrast to those actions that appeal to othe ...

High-value target In United States military terminology, a high-value target (HVT) is the term given to a person or resource that an enemy commander requires to complete a mission. The term has been widely used in the news media for Osama Bin Laden and high-rankin ...

s
Manhunting
Intelligence operations
Mobility operations

Unconventional warfare Unconventional warfare (UW) is broadly defined as "military and quasi-military operations other than conventional warfare" and may use covert forces, subversion, or guerrilla warfare. This is typically done to avoid escalation into conventiona ...

, command_structure= , size= , current_commander= , garrison= , ceremonial_chief= , nickname= , motto= , colors= , march= , mascot= , battles= Syrian Civil War *

Operation Euphrates Shield Operation Euphrates Shield ( tr, Fırat Kalkanı Harekâtı) was a cross-border military operation conducted by the Turkish Armed Forces in the Syrian Civil War which led to the Turkish occupation of northern Syria. Operations were carried out ...

Raqqa campaign (2016–2017) The Raqqa campaign (codenamed Operation Wrath of Euphrates) was a military operation launched in November 2016 during the Rojava–Islamist conflict by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) i ...

Battle of Tabqa (2017) The Battle of Tabqa, part of the Raqqa campaign (2016–17) of the Rojava-Islamist conflict, resulted from a Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) operation against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) to recapture and secure the Tabqa Da ...

Battle of Raqqa (2017) The Battle of Raqqa (2017), also known as the Second Battle of Raqqa, was the fifth and final phase of the Raqqa campaign (2016–2017) launched by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) against the Islamic State (ISIL) with an aim to seize the city ...

Deir ez-Zor offensive (September 2017–March 2018) Deir or DEIR may refer to: * Ad Deir or The Monastery, a building in Petra, Jordan *Tell Deir, an archaeological site in Lebanon *Deir ez-Zor or Ad-Deir, a city in Syria * Draft environmental impact report, a document required in United States env ...

Operation Olive Branch Operation Olive Branch ( tr, Zeytin Dalı Harekâtı) was a cross-border military operation conducted by the Turkish Armed Forces and Syrian National Army (SNA) in the majority-Kurdish Afrin District of northwest Syria, against the People's Pr ...

* Eastern Syria insurgency (2017–present) , notable_commanders=Ali Boutan (

nom de guerre A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individu ...

: Haji Kurkhan) , anniversaries= , decorations= The Anti-Terror Units ( ku, Yekîneyên Antî Teror, short: YAT, ar, وحدات مكافحة الإرهاب) are the

special forces Special forces and special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...

of the

Syrian Democratic Forces , war = the Syrian Civil War , image = Flag of Syrian Democratic Forces.svgborder , caption = Flag , active = 10 October 2015 – present , ideology = DemocracyDecentralizationSecularism ...

, consisting of the best trained and equipped members of the

(YPG) and

Women's Protection Units (YPJ) ar, وحدات حماية المرأة , image = File:YPJ Flag.svg , caption = Flag of the YPJ , dates = April 2013–present , commander1 = Nesrin ...

(YPJ). They were led by the

Syrian Kurdish The Kurdish population of Syria ( ar, كرد سورية) is the country's largest ethnic minority, usually estimated at around 10% of the Syrian population Kurds are the largest ethnic minority in Syria, constituting around 10 per cent of the ...

commander Ali Boutan until his death. YAT is trained by United States special operations forces and the

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...

History

Formed as the YPG's special forces in late 2014, the unit was organized to seek and destroy

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant An Islamic state is a state that has a form of government based on Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a translation of the Arabic term ...

(ISIL) sleeper cells in

Rojava The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES), also known as Rojava, is a de facto autonomous region in northeastern Syria. It consists of self-governing sub-regions in the areas of Afrin, Jazira, Euphrates, Raqqa, Tabqa, Ma ...

and to conduct operations behind enemy lines. At first, the unit "existed in name only", as it consisted of "fierce fighters but only just that". This changed under the leadership of Ali Boutan who reformed YAT and began to put its members through training courses that were intended to emulate those of US and British special forces, while providing them with the best equipment the YPG/YPJ could afford. As cooperation between the YPG and the United States increased, YAT was further trained by US special forces and the

in designated compounds in Rojava and

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Ri ...

, while some YAT commanders were sent to

Fort Bragg Fort Bragg is a military installation of the United States Army in North Carolina, and is one of the largest military installations in the world by population, with around 54,000 military personnel. The military reservation is located within C ...

and

Fort Campbell Fort Campbell is a United States Army installation located astride the Kentucky–Tennessee border between Hopkinsville, Kentucky and Clarksville, Tennessee (post address is located in Kentucky). Fort Campbell is home to the 101st Airborne Div ...

for in-depth training. Since its formation, YAT has carried out raids against ISIL targets, arrested ISIL sleeper cells, and stopped ISIL terrorist attacks. In September 2016, YAT captured two

Sultan Murad Division The Sultan Murad Division ( ar, فرقة السلطان مراد; ''Firqat al-Sultan Murad'', tr, Sultan Murat Tümeni) is an armed rebel group in the Syrian Civil War, created around a Syrian Turkmen identity. It is aligned with the Syrian o ...

fighters who had previously been filmed torturing YPG fighters in

Jarabulus Jarabulus ( ar, جَرَابُلُس / ALA-LC: ''Jarābulus'', Aleppo dialect: ''Jrāblos''; tr, Cerablus) is a Syrian city administratively belonging to Aleppo Governorate, under the de-facto control of the Syrian Opposition. Jarabulus lies o ...

. In November 2016, Boutan was the target of an

improvised explosive device An improvised explosive device (IED) is a bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than in conventional military action. It may be constructed of conventional military explosives, such as an artillery shell, attached to a detonating mecha ...

(IED) in

Qamishli Qamishli ( ar, ٱلْقَامِشْلِي, Al-Qāmišlī, ku, قامشلۆ, Qamişlo, syc, ܒܝܬ ܙܠܝ̈ܢ, Bēṯ Zālīn, lit=House of Reeds or syr, ܩܡܫܠܐ, translit=Qamishlo)

, which exploded as his car passed by. Even though an American SOF medic attempted to save his life, he died of his wounds shortly after. The attack was believed to have been carried out by the Turkish

National Intelligence Organization The National Intelligence Organization ( tr, Millî İstihbarat Teşkilatı, MİT) is the state intelligence agency of Turkey. Established in 1965 to replace National Security Service, its aim is to gather information about the current and po ...

. The Turkish pro-government

Anadolu Agency Anadolu Agency ( tr, Anadolu Ajansı, ; abbreviated AA) is a state-run news agency headquartered in Ankara, Turkey. History The Anadolu Agency was founded in 1920 during the Turkish War of Independence by the order of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. As ...

claimed that Boutan had been responsible for sending

Kurdistan Workers' Party The Kurdistan Workers' Party or PKK is a Kurdish militant political organization and armed guerrilla movement, which historically operated throughout Kurdistan, but is now primarily based in the mountainous Kurdish-majority regions of sou ...

(PKK) fighters into Turkey in order to conduct "terror operations". In April 2017, YAT

aided In international relations, aid (also known as international aid, overseas aid, foreign aid, economic aid or foreign assistance) is – from the perspective of governments – a voluntary transfer of resources from o