Battle of Raqqa (2013)
The battle of Raqqa, also known as the first battle of Raqqa and code named by rebels as the "Raid of the Almighty", was fought for control of the northern Syrian city of Raqqa during the Syrian civil war between Sunni Islamist rebel insurgents and the Syrian Arab Army. Rebel forces launched the offensive in early March 2013, and declared themselves in "near-total control" on 5 March, making it the first provincial capital claimed to come under rebel control in the civil war. The battle, on the opposition side, was primarily led by the al-Nusra Front and Ahrar al-Sham.
| Battle of Raqqa | |||||||||
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| Part of the Raqqa campaign (2012–2013) and the Syrian civil war | |||||||||
Course of the battle and control in Raqqa as of October 2013 Syrian Arab Army control Opposition control | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
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Syrian Islamic Front Al-Nusra FrontIslamic State of Iraq |
Syrian Arab Republic
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
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Unknown top provincial al-Nusra commander † Unknown top provincial Ahrar al-Sham commander † Col. Moataz Raslan (top FSA commander) |
Brig. Gen. Khaled al-Halabi (Raqqa's state security head) Maj. Gen. Hassan Jalili (POW) (Provincial governor) Suleiman Suleiman (POW) (Provincial Baath party's secretary general) | ||||||||
| Units involved | |||||||||
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Raqqa Liberation Front
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Syrian Arab Army Syrian Air ForceLocal police | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| ≈7,000 fighters | 400 soldiers | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| 40–50 killed |
30 killed 300 captured | ||||||||
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More than 100 civilians killed from 4–5 March (Syrian Observatory for Human Rights estimate) 39 killed in air raids on 6 March | |||||||||
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