Aleppo offensive (October–December 2015)

Aleppo offensive (October–December 2015)
Part of the Battle of Aleppo (2012–present) and the Syrian Civil War
Date 16 October – 21 December 2015 (2 months and 5 days) Location Aleppo Governorate, Syria Status Syrian Army victory Territorial changes Government forces capture 408 square kilometres (158 square miles) of territory,[1] including the area's main rebel strongholds of Al-Hader[2] and Khan Tuman,[3][4] cutting the Aleppo–Damascus highway[3][5] and leaving them in control of three-quarters of the southern Aleppo countryside[6][7][8] Government forces regain control of the strategic Khanasser–Ithriya Highway from ISIL[9] The rebels recapture nine villages[10]
Belligerents
Syrian Arab Republic Syrian Armed Forces Syrian Army Syrian Air Force National Defence Forces Ba'ath Brigades[11] Local Defense Forces[12][13]  Iran IRGC Quds Force IRGC Ground Forces Iranian-backed Shi'ite Militias Kata'ib Hezbollah[14] Harakat al-Nujaba[14] Liwa Abu al-Fadhal al-Abbas[15] Liwa Fatemiyoun[16] “Liwaa Al-Badr” (Al-Badr Brigades)[17] Ammar Brigade[18] Hezbollah Liwa Al-Quds[19] Russian Air strikes: Aerospace Forces	SRCC Free Syrian Army Islamic Front Alwiya al-Furqan Army of Mujahedeen Harakat Nour al-Din al-Zenki(Until Late Jan. 2016)[20][21] Supported by:  Turkey  Saudi Arabia  Qatar  United States Al-Nusra Front Katibat Turkistani Katibat Tawhid wa Jihad (Uzbeks)[22] Caucasus Emirate[23]	Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (since 23 Oct.)
Commanders and leaders
Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani[24][25][26] (Supreme commander) Maj. Gen. Saleh Abdullah (commander of Syrian forces)[27] Col. Saeed Sayyah Taheri (IRGC commander) †[28][29] Mostafa Sadrzadeh †[18] (Ammar Brigade leader) Hussein Ferdai †[30] (senior commander of Liwa Fatemiyoun) Muhammad al-Sa’id[31] (Liwa al-Quds leader) Viktor Bondarev (Chief of staff Russian Air Force)	Hassan al-Haj Ali (Suqour al-Sham Brigade leader) Moder Abdul Salam Hamdoun †(Thuwar al-Sham Brigades senior commander)[32] Issa al-Turkmani (Sultan Murad Brigade commander)[20] Ismail Sanif † (Harakat Nour al-Din al-Zenki Commander)[33] Bashar Mqaddam † (Kata’eb Thuwar al-Sham commander)[34] Abdullah Al Ramla †(Levant Front)[35] Hassan Maakh †(Harakat Nour al-Din al-Zenki Field Commander)[36] Uwais al-Daghestani †[23](Caucasus Emirate field commander) Abu Suleiman al-Masri †[37] (Al-Nusra Front senior commander) Faysal Shareef “Abu ‘Ameer” †[38](Al-Nusra Front field commander) Abu Muthana Al-Midani †(Al-Nusra Front field commander)[39] Mohammad Hamdoush †(Morrocan Brigades Commander)[40]	Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi Abu Nurlbagasi †[41] Muhammad ibn Khayrat †[41] Al-Okab †[41]
Units involved
Syrian Army: 4th Armored Division 46th Brigade[42] 82th Brigade[42] 155th Brigade[42] 43th Brigade[8] 10th Armoured Division 66th Brigade[19]	Fatah Halab: Free Syrian Army: Kata’eb Thuwar al-Sham Division 13 Islamic Front: Ahrar ash-Sham Suqour al-Sham Brigade[20] Sultan Murad Brigade	Military of ISIL
Strength
4,000+ Shi'ite militiamen and soldiers[42][43] 2,000 Iranian-backed fighters[44] 1,500 Iraqi paramilitary fighters[45]	Unknown	Unknown

The Aleppo offensive was an operation that started on 16 October when the Syrian Army launched a large-scale strategic offensive south of Aleppo. The main objective of the operation was to secure the Azzan Mountains, while also creating a larger buffer-zone around the Syrian Government’s only highway leading to the provincial capital.^[46] The objective was also reportedly to set conditions for an upcoming offensive to isolate rebel forces in Aleppo City and to relieve the long-standing siege of a pro-government enclave in Aleppo Province.^[47]

Gen. Qasem Soleimani was reported to have personally led the drive deep into the southern Aleppo countryside where many towns and villages were taken by government forces. Gen. Soleimani was in command of the Syrian Arab Army’s 4th Mechanized Division, Hezbollah, Harakat Al-Nujaba (Iraqi), Kataebat Hezbollah (Iraqi), Liwaa Abu Fadl Al-Abbas (Iraqi), and Firqa Fatayyemoun (Afghan/Iranian volunteers).^[24][48] The Syrian government's progress deep into the southern Aleppo countryside has been attributed in large part to the Iranian leadership during the offensive.^[49]

Preparations

The origins of the planning of the offensive in Aleppo could be traced back to Gen. Qasem Soleimani's visit to Moscow in July 2015. Gen. Soleimani was reportedly sent to Syria by the supreme leader of Iran himself, Ali Khamenei, in order to discuss military matters with his Russian couterparts and coordinate a joint escalation of forces in Syria.^[50]

One month before the offensive south of Aleppo, the military launched another operation east of the city in an attempt to break the two-year siege of the Kuweyres military air base.

Major General Qasem Soleimani reportedly traveled from Latakia Governorate’s northeastern countryside to the Al-Safeera District of southern Aleppo in order to personally oversee the first phase of the large-scale offensive in the Azzan Mountains. Soleimani did not travel alone to Aleppo – he was escorted by a large convoy of armored vehicles that were largely made up of Iraqi Shi’i militiamen; these aforementioned fighters were tasked with carrying out the planned operations around the Aleppo Governorate’s countryside. Major General Suleimani traveled to Syria on the night of 12 October, to meet with the Iranian and Russian military advisors overseeing the large-scale operations around the Aleppo Governorate’s rural terrain. He was joined by six other senior military officers from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.^[25]

The offensive

Syrian Government offensive

At 10 A.M. (Damascus Time) on the morning of 16 October, the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) – in coordination with Hezbollah, the National Defense Forces (NDF), and Al-Ba’ath Battalions – launched their large-scale southern Aleppo offensive after almost one year of inactivity along this rural area in the Azzan Mountains. According to field reports from the provincial capital, the Syrian Armed Forces and Hezbollah captured four sites from the Islamist rebels of Jabhat Al-Shamiyah (Levantine Front), Harakat Ahrar Al-Sham, and the Free Syrian Army (FSA), killing a number of combatants in the process of their advance in the Aleppo Governorate’s southern countryside.

On 17 October, government forces backed by Shi'ite militia captured several villages, along with the Defense Battalion Base and the farms surrounding it.^[11][46] By the next day, the military was in control of five villages, while it was unclear who controlled al-Shgaydalah after a rebel-counterattack to retake it from the Army.^[51][52] The counterattack was carried out by Sham Revolutionary Brigades and Division 13, the latter a CIA-funded secular group, with videos showing a TOW missile attack destroying a bulldozer and later capturing a BMP-1.^[20][53]

On 19 October, government forces captured three hills.^[54] The commander of the Harakat Nour al-Din al-Zenki rebel group was killed in the fighting during the day.^[55] Since the beginning of the offensive, the Army lost at least 11 armored vehicles to TOW AT missiles, according to the SOHR.^[20] More weapons and ammunition were also supplied to the FSA including mortars and TOWs according to Issa Al-Turkmani, a Sultan Murad brigade spokesman.^[20] Saudi Arabia alone reportedly delivered 500 AT missiles, but another rebel spokesman said that the quantity of TOWs was inadequate for the scale of the assault, pointing out that once the missiles were distributed among the groups each ended up with just a couple of tubes, stating that they needed dozens more per group.^[20][56]

On 20 October, a rebel official stated the "losses are heavy on both sides and the regime’s advance is very slow". Meanwhile, tens of thousands of people reportedly fled the southern Aleppo countryside.^[57] Between 21 and 22 October, government forces took control of seven more villages.^[58][59][60] By this time, government forces reportedly lost at least 15 tanks, armored vehicles and bulldozers since the offensive begun.^[47]

ISIL offensives and first rebel counterattack

On 23 October, ISIL launched an attack on the Khanaser-Ethria highway (the main government supply route between Hama and Aleppo), after detonating two VBIED's, and captured 6 kilometres (3.7 miles) of a road. Subsequently, government forces recaptured some parts of it.^[61] The clashes over the next 24 hours left 28 ISIL fighters and 21 soldiers dead.^[62] The attack may have been designed to coincide with a rebel offensive in the Aleppo Governate in order to increase its chances of success.^[63] Elsewhere, 24 rebels, including the military leader of the Thwar al-Sham battalions and a commander of the Army of Mujahedeen, were killed in the southern Aleppo countryside,^[62] while a rebel spokesman claimed that SAA losses of vehicles had reached 21.^[64] At the end of the day, the rebels recaptured al-Hamra village,^[65] while government forces reportedly recaptured most of the Khanaser-Ethria highway.^[66]

On 24 October, Army sources reported that it had recaptured the western outskirts of Ithriyah, however the main supply route to Aleppo remained cut off.^[19] That day, a second leader in the Nur al-Din Zanki Movement was killed, while a rebel and NDF commander were wounded.^[67] The number of government fighters killed at the Khanaser-Ethria highway rose to at least 43.^[68] At the end of the day, ISIL launched an attack on the eastern suburbs of Aleppo city and captured Tal Reeman and Al-Salihiyah, before government fighters could repel their further attacks with the help of Russian airplanes.^[69]

On 25 October, rebels attacked, captured and eventually lost the strategically important cement plant area on the outskirts of Aleppo's Sheikh Saeed neighborhood after heavy clashes that led to the death of 14 government fighters and 10 rebels.^[70] Meanwhile, government forces reportedly recaptured two checkpoints along the Khanaser-Ethria highway, before a sandstorm forcibly halted all military operations in Aleppo.^[71] According to the SOHR, ISIL was still in control of parts of the highway, blocking the main supply route to Aleppo.^[70]

On 26 October, ISIL re-attacked the Khanaser-Ethria highway and captured a checkpoint, killing eight government fighters. Meanwhile, rebels recaptured Tell Hamiriyyeh hill and the Khalsa farms in the southern Aleppo countryside.^[72] The next day, ISIL also attacked the strategical town of As-Safira in southeastern Aleppo after detonating four VBIED's in the area. ISIL captured "key" military positions near the town and managed to enter Tel Aran.^[73] ISIL also managed to enter the northern district of As-Safira, but were pushed out with the help of reinforcements.^[74][75] Later that day, government forces regained their positions in the al-Safira area.^[76]

On 28 October, Russian airstrikes bombed a rebel headquarters in the Aleppo countryside and killed at least 7 rebels.^[76]

Renewed government advance

The military situation around Aleppo, 20 January 2016

On 30 October, government forces recaptured the Tal Ithriya hill near the Khanaser–Ethria highway^[77][78] and repelled ISIL at Sheikh Hilal and Al-Sa’an.^[78] According to the same sources, the SAA also conducted an operation near the town of Khan Touman and captured farms located between the towns of Khan Touman and Qarass in southern Aleppo.^[79] Between 31 October and 2 November, the SAA and its allies captured six villages in the southern countryside of Aleppo, as the rebels withdrew to their stronghold at Al-Hadher. A rebel counter-attack was reportedly unsuccessful.^{[80][81][82][82][83]}

On 2 November, ISIL captured the village of Ta’anah and its hill from Syrian troops,^[84] while the rebels reportedly recaptured "wide parts" of Jabal al-Banjira.^[85] The next day, government forces recaptured Al-Ta’anah.^[86]

Wider strategic view, including the North–western Syria offensive.

On 4 November, government troops regained control over the Khanasser–Ithriya Highway after twelve days of clashes with ISIL, killing seven fighters, four through beheading.^[87] While retreating towards al-Tabbaqa, a huge ISIS convoy was reportedly struck by Russian aircraft; the number of dead reported in the attack was more than 50.^[9]

On 5 November, rebels recaptured two villages but despite this, the Army captured the town of Kafr Haddad.^[88][89][90]

On 8 November, government forces captured three villages positioned directly south of Al-Hadhir, two of which the rebels retook the next day.^[91][92] The SAA re-took one of them on 10 November,^[93] as well as a further three.^[94][95]

By the end of 11 November, the rebels recaptured several areas,^[96][97] but the military continued its advances on 12 November with the capture of five more villages,^{[98][99][100][101]} as well as the key rebel town of Al-Hader.^[2][102]

On 13 November, government forces captured four villages and a hill, thus taking control of 341 km² (132 sq mi) of territory.^{[5][103][104]} By the end of the day, they broke through to the west, capturing two villages and the ICARDA base, adjacent to the Idlib–Aleppo highway, cutting the road.^{[105][106][107][108][109][110][111]}

On 17 November, government forces captured Khalasah (known as Halash), after they advance from the nearby village Al-Hamraa.^[112] On the next day, rebels recaptured the Banes farms.^[113][114]

On 20 November, government troops captured Burj Al-Rumman and advanced to the village of Al-‘Umariyah, to the south-west of Al-Safira.^[115] At this point, the military halted their offensive, in expectation of the arrival of new T-90 tanks, which would come by the end of the month.^[116]

Second rebel counter-attack

On 21 November, rebels launched a counter-offensive at Tal al-Eis,^[117] By 23 November, the rebels recaptured seven villages and two hills.^[10] Al-Nusra seized a number of US-made Humvees from Shia militia near Tal Mamou.^[118]

On 28 November, the rebels recaptured al-Maryoudah village.^[119] However, by 29 November, the rebel assault on the southern perimeter of the village Al-Aziziyah failed from their positions at village Al-Makalah, and they withdrew to the south in order to evade air assaults from the Russian and Syrian Air Forces.^[120][121]

Army captures Khan Touman

Between 3 and 7 December, government forces recaptured three villages and two hills.^{[122][123][124][125][126][127][128][129]}

On 8 December, the rebels recaptured the village of Banes,^[130][131] the same day that government sources announced a third phase of the Southern Aleppo Offensive.^[132]

Between 12 and 13 December, government forces captured up to seven villages.^{[133][134][135][136][137]}

On 20 December, the Army captured the strategic town of Khan Tuman, as well as two nearby villages, several hills and the Khan Touman Ammunition Depot along the Aleppo-Damascus Highway (M-5 Highway), cutting the primary rebel supply route from the provincial capital of the Idlib province toward the provincial capital of the Aleppo province.^{[3][4][138][139][140]} The Al-Zarbeh Poultry Farm was also seized.^[141] On the next day, government forces advanced further around Khan Tuman, taking control of two villages and two hills.^{[142][143][144][145][146]}

Aftermath

On 11 January 2016, government forces launched an assault on the town of Al-Rashiddeen southwest of Aleppo city, while also reportedly capturing two villages in Aleppo's southern countryside.^[147] On 28 January, they also seized the village of Blouzah.^[148]

On 3 February, the rebels recaptured the village of Al-Khalidiyah, near Khan Touman, thus reopening their supply line via the Aleppo-Damascus Highway (M-5 Highway).^[149] However, it was reported government troops recaptured Al-Khalidiyah three days later.^[150]

Strategic analysis

Christopher Kozak of the Institute for the Study of War speculated that the assault was nothing more than a diversionary tactic intended to move rebel forces away from reopening the access to the Shi'ite towns of Nubl and al-Zahraa and cut the Aleppo–Turkey highway, their primary objective in his opinion.^[47] The Syrian Army eventually launched an offensive in Northern Aleppo on 1 February 2016 and broke the three-year siege of the two towns, effectively cutting Aleppo–Turkey supply route.^[151]

Hezbollah's main incentive in participating in the offensive is believed to be similar to their agenda elsewhere, securing Shi'ite villages. Their ultimate objective is believed to be reaching the villages of Kafriya and Al-Fu'ah, thus lifting the siege imposed by Al-Nusra Front.^[152]

With reportedly hundreds of square kilometers brought under government control within the span of the first month of the offensive, Al-Masdar concluded that the overall effectiveness of both the senior Iranian revolutionary guards on the ground as well as the close Russian air-support have been noted as part of the main array of factors leading to a revitalized advance by government forces.^[153][154]

See also

• Battle of Aleppo (2012–present)
• Kuweires offensive (September–November 2015)

References

Syrian Civil War Part of the Arab Winter   Background Timeline Background 1963 coup d'état 1966 coup d'état 1970 "Corrective Revolution" 1979–82 Islamic uprising 1999 Latakia protests 2000–01 Damascus Spring 2004 al-Qamishli riots Syrian occupation of Lebanon 2005 Damascus Declaration Human rights in Syria 2011 (Jan–Apr • May–Aug • Sep–Dec) Death of Hamza Ali Al-Khateeb Siege of Daraa Siege of Baniyas Talkalakh siege Siege of Rastan and Talbiseh Jisr ash-Shugur operation Siege of Hama Siege of Homs Jabal al-Zawiya operation Siege of Latakia Deir ez-Zor Clashes Rif Dimashq clashes Battle of Zabadani Battle of Douma Daraa Governorate clashes First Battle of Rastan Shayrat and Tiyas airbase ambush Idlib Governorate clashes Jabal al-Zawiya massacres 2012 (Jan–Apr • May–Aug • Sep–Dec) al-Midan bombing Second Battle of Rastan First Idlib operation First Battle of Idlib First Battle of al-Qusayr Second Idlib operation Battle of Taftanaz Third Battle of Rastan Houla massacre Battle of al-Haffah Al-Qubeir massacre Battle of Tremseh Battle of Damascus Damascus bombing Battle of Aleppo Battle of Anadan Siege of Base 46 First Rif Dimashq offensive Darayya massacre Battle of Khirbet al-Joz Battle of Maarrat al-Nu'man First Siege of Wadi Deif Battle of Harem Second Rif Dimashq offensive Battle of Darayya Aqrab massacre First Hama offensive Halfaya massacre Battle of Darayya Quneitra Governorate clashes Talbiseh bakery massacre 2013 (Jan–Apr • May–Dec) Battle of Safira Battle of Shadadeh Damascus offensive Battle of Raqqa Daraa offensive Third Rif Dimashq offensive Battle of Jdaidet al-Fadl Ghouta chemical attack Al-Qusayr offensive Second Battle of al-Qusayr Bayda and Baniyas massacres Second Hama offensive Hatla massacre Khan al-Assal chemical attack Khan al-Assal massacre Adra massacre Battle of Ras al-Ayn Fourth Rif Dimashq offensive Aleppo offensive 2014 (Jan–Jul • Aug–Dec) First Inter-Rebel Conflict Battle of Markada First Deir ez-Zor Offensive Battle of Mork 2nd Daraa Offensive Maan massacre Al-Otaiba ambush 4th Idlib Offensive Battle of Hosn 2nd Latakia Offensive Battle of Al-Malihah Kafr Zita chemical attack Second Siege of Wadi Deif 2nd Qalamoun Offensive Battle of Arsal First Battle of the Shaer gas field Eastern Syria Offensive Battle for Tabqa Air base 3rd Hama Offensive Quneitra Offensive 6th Rif Dimashq offensive Siege of Kobanî 3rd Daraa offensive 2nd Al-Safira offensive Idlib Raid Second Inter-Rebel Conflict Second Battle of the Shaer gas field Battle of Al-Shaykh Maskin 2nd Deir ez-Zor offensive 2015 (Jan–Jul • Aug–Dec) An-26 crash 4th Daraa Offensive Southern Syria Offensive Eastern al-Hasakah offensive 1st Battle of Sarrin 2nd Battle of Sarrin Battle of Bosra 5th Idlib Offensive Second Battle of Idlib Battle of Nasib Border Crossing 2nd Battle of Yarmouk Camp Western al-Hasakah offensive Palmyra offensive (May 2015) Tell Abyad offensive Kobanî massacre Quneitra offensive Northwestern Syria offensive Aleppo offensive Southern Al-Hasakah offensive Homs offensive (November–December 2015) Tishrin Dam offensive 2015 Russian Sukhoi Su-24 shootdown 2016 (Jan–Jul Deir ez-Zor massacre Sayyidah Zaynab bombings Spillover Spillover into Lebanon Lebanese–Syrian border clashes Battle of Sidon Iranian Embassy Bombing Northern Lebanon Clashes Syrian-Turkish border clashes December 2011 Syrian–Turkish border clash Turkish aircraft shootdown October 2012 Syrian-Turkish border clashes Reyhanlı bombings January 2014 Turkish airstrike in Syria Israeli–Syrian ceasefire line incidents Jordanian-Syrian border clashes April 2014 Jordanian–Syrian border airstrike Spillover into Iraq Akashat ambush Operation al-Shabah April 2014 Iraqi–Syrian border airstrike   Parties involved Syria Syrian Government Syrian Ba'ath Party Army & Militias Syrian Armed Forces Syrian Arab Army Syrian Arab Air Force Syrian Arab Navy National Defense Force Jaysh al-Sha'bi Lijan militias Ba'ath Brigades al-Abbas Brigade PFLP-GC Syrian Resistance Other groups Support for the government Hezbollah involvement Iranian involvement Basij Revolutionary Guards Russia's involvement military intervention Russia–Syria–Iran–Iraq coalition Opposition (SRCC) NCSR Government National Coalition Local Co-ordination Committees Syrian National Council Supreme Council of the Syrian Revolution National Coordination Committee for Democratic Change Syrian Revolution General Commission Syrian Support Group Adopt a Revolution Paramilitaries Free Syrian Army Syrian Turkmen Brigades Islamic Front Army of Mujahedeen Ajnad al-Sham Fastaqim Kama Umirt Smaller groups Support for the opposition American-led intervention American rescue mission Jordanian intervention Qatari involvement Saudi Arabia Turkey Rojava (Kurds) Rojava government Democratic Union Party Kurdish National Council (Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union) SDF forces People's Protection Units (Syriac Military Council) Jabhat al-Akrad Asayish Sutoro Salafi groups Jaish al-Fatah Al-Nusra Front Sham Legion Ahrar ash-Sham Other Salafists Muhajirin wa-Ansar Alliance Jabhat Ansar al-Din ISIL Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant] Military of ISIL ISIL-allied groups Yarmouk Martyrs Brigade Jaysh al-Jihad   People Ammar Abdulhamid Ali al-Abdallah Adnan al-Aroor al-Assad family Bashar Maher Rifaat Rami Makhlouf Hafez Makhlouf Riad al-Asaad Anwar al-Bunni Fahd Jassem al-Freij Haitham al-Maleh Moaz al-Khatib Kamal al-Labwani Hamza al-Khateeb Tal al-Mallohi Fida al-Sayed Riad al-Turk Khaled Khoja Ammar al-Qurabi Suheir Atassi Ali Sadreddine Al-Bayanouni Aref Dalila Farid Ghadry Burhan Ghalioun Razan Ghazzawi Ghassan Hitto Salim Idris Randa Kassis Abdul Halim Khaddam Michel Kilo Bassma Kodmani Ali Habib Mahmud Ali Mahmoud Othman Ibrahim Qashoush Dawoud Rajiha Yassin al-Haj Saleh Bouthaina Shaaban Adib Shishakly Abdulbaset Sieda Riad Seif Fadwa Soliman Mohamad Anas Haitham Soueid Yaser Tabbara Razan Zaitouneh Rami Jarrah Abdurrahman Mustafa   Issues Peace process Related topics Issues Casualties Chemical weapons Cities and towns Damaged heritage sites Foreign involvement Human rights violations Humanitarian aid International reactions International demonstrations and protests Massacres Refugees (European migrant crisis) Sectarianism and minorities Spillover into Lebanon Syrian reactions Peace process Arab League monitors Friends of Syria Group Kofi Annan peace plan UN Supervision Mission Lakhdar Brahimi peace plan U.S.–Russia peace proposals on Syria 39th G8 summit UN Security Council Resolution 2118 Geneva II Conference 2015 Zabadani cease-fire agreement 2015 Vienna talks 2016 Geneva talks Related topics 2014 Syrian detainee report Fourth Extraordinary Session of the Islamic Summit Conference International recognition of the Syrian National Council Syria Files Syrian media coverage The Return to Homs Silvered Water, Syria Self-Portrait Category Commons Wikinews