al-Shaddadah ٱلشَّدَّادَة | |
|---|---|
Town | |
  al-Shaddadah Location of al-Shaddadah in Syria | |
| Coordinates:36°03′22″N40°43′49″E / 36.0561°N 40.7303°E /36.0561; 40.7303 | |
| Country | Syria |
| Governorate | al-Hasakah |
| District | al-Hasakah |
| Subdistrict | al-Shaddadah |
| Control |  Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria |
| Population (2004)[1] | 15,806 |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
| Geocode | C4446 |
Al-Shaddadah oral-Shaddadi (Arabic:ٱلشَّدَّادَة \ ٱلشَّدَّادِي,romanized: aš-Šaddādah / aš-Šaddādī,Kurdish:Şeddadê[2]) is a town in southernal-Hasakah Governorate, northeasternSyria. The town is theadministrative center of theal-Shaddadah Subdistrict, which consists of 16 municipalities. At the 2004 census, al-Shaddadah had a population of 15,806.[1]
The town's name might be derived from "Shadadu"; a governor of the district of "Suru" mentioned in the annals of the Assyria kingAssurnasirpal II.[3] The town is situated off the western bank of theKhabur River. Nearby localities includeal-Sabaa wa Arbain to the west.
In the course of theSyrian civil war, the city was attacked by therebel forces in theFebruary 2013 Battle of Shaddadi and was captured three days later.[4] According to theSyrian Observatory for Human Rights, over 100Syrian Army soldiers and 40al-Nusra fighters were killed, as well as dozens of petroleum workers.[5]
The city was later attacked and captured by theIslamic State in July 2013 which took over the city after ousting the rebels and it remained one of the last IS strongholds in the province.[6]
When on 11 October 2015, the Kurdish-majorityYPG and their multiethnic partners, including theal-Sanadid Forces of the ArabShammar tribe, joined forces to form theSDF, al-Sanadid leaderBandar al-Humaydi made it an "immediate priority to liberateal-Hawl and al-Shaddadah from theIslamic State.”[7]
On 24 November 2015, it became known thatIslamic State militants were transferring their family members further south to theDeir ez-Zor Governorate.[8] After the SDF captured the South Hasakah Dam on 30 November, they continued their offensive southward, towards the city of al-Shaddadah, now IS's last stronghold in al-Hasakah province.[9][10] Subsequently, Arab tribal leaders reportedly urged IS to withdraw from the city "peacefully," in order to prevent civilian casualties and the possible collapse of al-Shaddadi's economic infrastructure, if a destructive battle between the SDF/coalition forces and the Islamic State were to occur.[10] It was also reported that IS was beginning to evacuate some of its positions near al-Shaddadi.[10]
On 19 February 2016,the town was captured by theSDF.[11][12]
On 21 January 2019, US and SDF forces were attacked by aVBIED. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack through an affiliated news service.[13]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) Also available in English:UN OCHA."2004 Census Data". Humanitarian Data Exchange.
