The western al-Bab offensive (September 2016) was a military operation launched by the

Syrian Democratic Forces The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) is a Kurds in Syria, Kurdish-led coalition of U.S.-backed Left-wing politics, left-wing ethnic militias and rebel groups, and serves as the official military wing of the Democratic Autonomous Administration ...

(SDF) against 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 ...

in the countryside of northwestern

Aleppo Governorate Aleppo Governorate ( / ALA-LC: ''Muḥāfaẓat Ḥalab'' ) is one of the fourteen Governorates of Syria, governorates of Syria. It is the most populous governorate in Syria with a population of more than 4,867,000 (2011 Est.), almost 23% of the t ...

, south of the towns of Mare' and Tel Rifaat.

Preparations

On 14 August 2016, just after the capture of

Manbij Manbij (; ; ) is a city in the northeast of Aleppo Governorate in northern Syria, west of the Euphrates. The 2004 census gives its population as nearly 100,000.

during the Manbij offensive, several SDF factions led by 16 commanders formed the al-Bab Military Council, modelled after the Manbij Military Council, in order to capture territory in the al-Bab countryside and eventually the city itself from ISIL. The military council called for US support in the planned offensive. The main forces of the council would attack al-Bab from its eastern side, though elements of the council do also have a presence on the western front.

The offensive

Initial SDF advances

On 30 August 2016, following heavy mortar bombardment and

US Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

airstrikes on ISIL positions in the villages that killed 13 fighters and destroyed five of their vehicles, forcing them to withdraw, the SDF in Afrin, led by the Army of Revolutionaries, entered and captured the villages of Maarat Umm Hawsh, Umm Qura, Herbel, and Tell Qarah. The next day, ISIL launched a counter-attack on Herbel and briefly recaptured it. However, the Revolutionary Army reentered the village and retook it, capturing a stash of weapons and ammunition, and the Syrian independence flag was raised in the town. A US airstrike destroyed a mortar in the area. In the evening of that day ISIL sent two

car bomb A car bomb, bus bomb, van bomb, lorry bomb, or truck bomb, also known as a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED), is an improvised explosive device designed to be detonated in an automobile or other vehicles. Car bombs can be roug ...

s at the village but they were reportedly destroyed before they could reach their targets. SDF engineering units dismantled and detonated 70

land mine A land mine, or landmine, is an explosive weapon often concealed under or camouflaged on the ground, and designed to destroy or disable enemy targets as they pass over or near it. Land mines are divided into two types: anti-tank mines, wh ...

s by 2 September. US airstrikes destroyed seven ISIL positions and a weapons cache on the same day. SDF positions in Umm Qura were shelled by ISIL during the night which prompted them to shell back. Minesweeping operations continued as dozens of landmines remain in the village. ISIL launched a second counter-attack on Umm Hosh and Umm Qara on 4 September, after bombarding the villages with heavy weapons. ISIL claimed it had recaptured Umm Qara and killed around 30 SDF fighters and destroyed 2 of their armoured vehicles with

anti-tank missile An anti-tank guided missile (ATGM), anti-tank missile, anti-tank guided weapon (ATGW) or anti-armor guided weapon is a missile guidance, guided missile primarily designed to hit and destroy armoured fighting vehicle, heavily armored military v ...

s. On 6 September, the SDF captured the village of Wahshiyah. On 8 September, ISIL evacuated its headquarters in al-Bab and moved it to Khafsa located east of the city with dozens of vehicles carrying militants and weapons, this came a day after Turkish-led rebel forces also expressed their goal of capturing al-Bab.

ISIL counter-offensives and further SDF gains

On 19 September, after shelling the village with

rocket artillery Rocket artillery is artillery that uses rockets as the projectile. The use of rocket artillery dates back to medieval China where devices such as fire arrows were used (albeit mostly as a psychological weapon). Fire arrows were also used in mult ...

and exploding 2 car bombs, ISIL launched another counter-offensive on Umm Hosh from three axis. Intense clashes between the SDF and ISIL continued the next day, and 16 SDF fighters were killed. The front in Umm Hosh eventually calmed, however fighting continued in the outskirts of the village. On 24 and 25 September, the SDF captured al-Hasia and Hassadjek, with clashes ongoing in Bayt Isa and Tall Saussine south of Tell Qara. After this the SDF reached within 20 km west of al-Bab city. On 28 September, ISIL launched a fourth counteroffensive, launching 2 car bombs at SDF checkpoints around Umm Qura and Umm Hosh and launching mortar shells on the SDF headquarters in the area. SDF forces responded by firing heavy artillery at ISIL positions in the villages of Wahshiya, Hesasik and Tel Maled. According to the SDF at least 16 ISIL militants were killed and six SDF fighters were killed in the attacks. Clashes also erupted between SDF fighters and ISIL militants near the town of Herbel where two ISIS vehicles were destroyed and eight militants were killed according to the SDF. Three SDF fighters were killed in these clashes. US warplanes assisted the SDF by conducting at least three airstrikes on ISIL fighting positions which forced the ISIL militants to withdraw. The SDF spokesman Ahmed Sultan stated that the clashes stopped around midnight, and due to US airstrikes, the ISIL forces withdrew from their positions.

Aftermath - SDF confrontation with Turkey-backed FSA

Mid-October, in response to advances by the

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

-backed

Free Syrian Army The Free Syrian Army (FSA; ) is a Big tent, big-tent coalition of decentralized Syrian opposition (2011–2024), Syrian opposition rebel groups in the Syrian civil war founded on 29 July 2011 by Colonel Riad al-Asaad and six officers who defe ...

forces against ISIL in the area of Dabiq, the SDF started their own advances.

References