| Akashat ambush | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theSyrian Civil War andIraqi insurgency | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Islamic State of Iraq[1][2] |  Syrian Arab Republic Iraq | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Abu Waheeb | Maj. Ali Juwair al-Dulaimi Lt. Col. Mohammed Khalaf al-Dulaimi | ||||||
| Units involved | |||||||
| ISIL military |  Syrian Army Iraqi Army | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| Unknown | 64 soldiers[3] 19 soldiers[4] | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Unknown | 51 soldiers killed 10 soldiers wounded[5] 13 soldiers killed | ||||||
TheAkashat ambush was a well planned assault against an unarmedSyrian Army convoy defended by Iraqi soldiers that took place on 4 March 2013, as the group was travelling in the province ofAnbar, next to the border with Syria. TheIslamic State of Iraq claimed responsibility for the ambush on 11 March 2013.[6]
On 1 March 2013, according to the Syrian officer who was in charge of theYaarubiyeh border crossing, north of the Iraqi border, reported a man identifying himself as the leader of one faction ofJabhat al-Nusra called him that day demanding that he and his men surrender. He refused and the poorly defended border outpost, which only had 70 soldiers despite being one of the three main ones along the Syrian–Iraqi border, came under intense attack resulting in the deaths of six of his men. He said this forced him and the remaining men to the IraqiRabiya border crossing.[7]
The group of 64 were detained by Iraqi authorities and transported toBaghdad, where from there they were to be transported back to Syrian authorities in theAl Waleed border crossing, located in Iraq'sSunni majorityAl Anbar Governorate close to theSyrian andJordanian borders.[8]
The incident took place on 4 March 2013, while the convoy was on its way to the al-Waleed Border Crossing post in southwesternIraq, located in the predominantlySunniAnbar Province. The convoy was transporting the unarmed Syrian soldiers in several buses to al-Waleed, where they would be transferred back to Syrian authorities.
While the convoy was on its way, Islamic State of Iraq gunmen set up a well coordinated assault on the convoy with roadside bombs, automatic weapons, and rocket-propelled grenades. The gunmen attacked the convoy from two sides. Explosives were first detonated on Iraqi military escorts assigned to protect transport the lorries full of unarmed Syrian soldiers.[9] A total of 51 Syrian soldiers died, while ten others were wounded.[10] Thirteen Iraqi soldiers were also killed in the attack.[11]
The identity of the attackers was immediately unknown, but Iraqi officials initially blamed theFree Iraqi Army, who are predominantly Sunni and have connections to the rebel group of theFree Syrian Army. This incident also raised fears that Iraq could be drawn into theSyrian Civil War.[12]
On 11 March 2013, theIslamic State of Iraq claimed responsibility for the attack in an online statement, stating that they had set ambushes on roads to the Syrian border and had "annihilated" the convoy. The statement referred to the convoy as a "column of theSafavid army", a reference to the Shia Persian dynasty that ruled Iran from 1501 to 1736. The group also claimed that the presence of Syrian soldiers in Iraq showed "firm co-operation" between the Syrian and Iraqi governments which they referred to as the "Nusayri-Rawafid alliance".[13]
33°15′00″N40°35′00″E / 33.2500°N 40.5833°E /33.2500; 40.5833
