Battle of al-Bab

The Battle of al-Bab was a battle for the city of al-Bab in the Aleppo Governorate that included a military offensive launched by Syrian rebel groups (including groups affiliated with the Free Syrian Army) and the Turkish Armed Forces north of al-Bab, a separate Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) offensive east and west of the city, and another Syrian Army offensive from the south of the city. The northern Turkish-led forces intended to capture al-Bab from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), as part of the Turkish military intervention in Syria. By the end of the battle, the Turkish-led forces had captured al-Bab, Qabasin, and Bizaah, while the Syrian Army captured Tadef and other areas further south, with the SDF making gains further to the east and the west.

Battle of al-Bab
Part of the Operation Euphrates Shield and the Syrian Civil War

Map of the wider Turkish-led operations and the wider campaigns in northern Aleppo
  Syrian Armed Forces and allied groups
  Syrian Democratic Forces
  FSA groups and Turkish troops in Northern Syria
Date6 November 2016 – 23 February 2017
(3 months, 2 weeks and 3 days)
Location
Result
  • Turkish and SNA victory
  • International coalition air intervention Turkish Armed Forces and Turkish Free Syrian Army victory
  • Turkish Armed Forces and Turkish Free Syrian Army/allied Syrian rebels capture the city of al-Bab, the towns of Bizaah and Qabasin and 37 villages from ISIL and 4 villages from SDF
  • The SDF captures 17 villages and towns, including Arima, from ISIL
  • The Syrian Army captures 25+ villages and towns including Tadef and several hills from ISIL
Belligerents
 Turkey
Free Syrian Army
Support:
Russia (against ISIL only; since 29 Dec. 2016)
 United States (against ISIL only, since 17 Jan. 2017)
 Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant

Syrian Democratic Forces (until 27 November 2016)

  • Al-Bab Military Council
  • Manbij Military Council

Syrian Arab Republic

  • Syrian Armed Forces

Hezbollah Syrian National Resistance
Syrian Resistance

Support:
Russia (against ISIL only)
Commanders and leaders

Lt. Gen. Zekai Aksakallı
(Operations chief commander)
Lt. Gen. İsmail Metin Temel
(Second Army commander)
Col. Ahmed Othman
(Sultan Murad Division commander)
Fehim İsa (Sultan Murad Division commander)
Mahmoud Abu Hamza (Descendants of Saladin Brigade commander)
Capt. Yussuf Shibli (Qabasin Military Council commander)
Capt. Abdel Salam Abdel Razaq (Nour al-Din al-Zenki Movement commander)
Capt. Mohammed Abu Mustafa
(Sham Legion commander)
Abu Jafer (Brigade of Conquest commander)

Zakariya Wali (WIA)
(Mehmed the Conqueror Brigade military commander)

Abu Khalid al-Urduni  (ISIL Governor of al-Bab)
Abu Husen Tunisi 
(ISIL emir)
Abu Ansari 
(ISIL emir)

Jonathan Jeffrey (a.k.a. Abu Ibrahim Al-Francy)  (POW)
(French ISIL leader in al-Bab)
Adnan Abu Amjad (Manbij Military Council & Northern Sun Battalion commander)
Anwar Khabat (Euphrates Liberation Brigade commander)
Units involved

Turkish Armed Forces

  • Turkish Land Forces
  • Turkish Air Force
  • Special Forces

Hawar Kilis Operations Room

  • Liberation Army
  • Free Idlib Army
  • Sultan Murad Division
    • Sultan Malik-Shah Brigade
    • Suleyman-Shah Brigade
    • Alparslan Special Forces
    • Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror Brigade
  • Hamza Division
    • Dhi Qar Brigade
    • Northern Thunder Brigade
    • Samarkand Brigade
    • Mare' Resistance Brigade
    • Special Operations Brigade
    • First Brigade
    • Fifth Brigade
    • Brigade 51
  • Levant Front
    • Northern Storm Brigade
    • Liwa Suyuf al-Sham (Azaz branch)
    • Liwa Jund al-Islam
    • Jaysh al-Shamal
    • Brigade of Conquest
  • Sham Legion (Northern Aleppo Governorate branch)
    • Nour al-Din al-Zenki Movement (Northern Aleppo Governorate branch)
      • Liwa Ahrar Souriya
      • Suyuf al-Shahba Brigade
  • Al-Moutasem Brigade
  • Fastaqim Union (Northern Aleppo Governorate branch)
  • Division 99
  • Northern Hawks Brigade
  • 1st Division of Aleppo
  • Elite Islamic Battalions
  • Army of Grandsons
  • Akhtarin Military Council
  • Victory Bloc
  • Qabasin Military Council
  • Al-Bab Military Council

Other Syrian rebels:

Military of ISIL

  • ISIL Aleppo branch
  • Sharia police

Syrian Democratic Forces

  • Army of Revolutionaries
    • Tribal forces
    • Seljuk Brigade
  • Northern Sun Battalion
  • Qabasin Martyrs Brigade
  • Al-Bab Revolutionaries Front
  • Kieba Martyrs Brigade
  • Ahrar Arima Brigade
  • Martyr Silo al-Rai Brigade
  • Al-Bab Countryside Martyrs Brigade
  • Euphrates Liberation Brigade
  • YPG
  • YPJ
  • Shahba Forces
  • Northern Democratic Brigade

Syrian Armed Forces

  • Syrian Army (since 16 Jan. 2017)
  • Syrian Arab Air Force
Kafr Saghir Martyrs Brigade
Strength
1,300–4,000 soldiers
40 tanks originally, 10 reinforcements
15+ APCs
2,000–3,000 rebel fighters
3,000–5,000 militants

Unknown


10,000 soldiers
Casualties and losses
59 killed
8-10 Leopard 2 tanks destroyed
500+ killed
1,348+ killed (Turkish and SAA claims)

46 killed


13+ killed
444 civilians killed
30,000+ civilians fled

The battle was concurrent with the other anti-ISIL operations, including the Raqqa campaign launched by the SDF, the Battle of Mosul launched by the Iraqi forces, and the Palmyra offensive, which was successfully conducted by ISIL against Syrian government forces. It was also claimed by Kurds to be the result of an "Aleppo for al-Bab" agreement between the Syrian government and Turkey, with Turkey withdrawing its support to rebels in Aleppo in exchange to laisser-faire up to al-Bab, thus cutting short the possibility of an East-West Kurdish corridor.

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