Battle of Tell Abyad
Part of theSyrian Civil War and theAmerican-led intervention in Syria
Situation in Northern Syria (June 2015)
Date 27 February – 1 March 2016 (3 days)(First phase) 3–8 March 2016 (5 days)(Second phase) Location Tell Abyad, north ofRaqqa Governorate,Syria Result SDF victory The SDF repels the assault
Belligerents
Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) Airstrikes: CJTF–OIR	Islamic State
Commanders and leaders
Khaled Daham al Bashir †[1] (Deir Ezzor tribal leader) Laila Mustafa (Head of City Council)[2]	Abu Waheeb
Units involved
Syrian Democratic Forces YPG[3] YPJ[3] Army of Revolutionaries[4] Asayish & Kurdish militia[5]	Military of ISIL Dokumacılar "Caliphate Cubs"[6][7] Tell Abyadsleeper cells[6]
Strength
Unknown	400+[8]
Casualties and losses
47+ killed[9](47 YPG/YPJ killed)[10] 300 killed(ISIL claim)	120–291 killed[9][11][12][13]
15–23 civilians killed[9][10]

TheBattle of Tel Abyad was a raid by theIslamic State of Iraq and the Levant on theYPG-held town ofTell Abyad at the end of February 2016, during theSyrian Civil War.

In July 2015,Tell Abyad, previously held by theIslamic State, wascaptured byYPG militias linking together the KurdishKobanî andJazira Canton. Since then the majority-Arab town has been absorbed into theKobane Canton.

According tothe Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a month before the battle's beginning a large number of ISILsleeper agents disguised as civilians andSDF or YPG fighters entered Tell Abyad. Most of them were so-called "Caliphate Cubs" or ISIL units ofchild soldiers.^[6][7]

On 27 February 2016, at around 23:00 local time (9 pm GMT),^[4] over a hundredIslamic State militants attacked theYPG controlled town ofTell Abyad (Gire Spi inKurdish), a key crossing along the Syrian-Turkish border, just hours after a general ceasefire in Syria took effect. According to YPG military spokesperson Redur Xelil, the attack was not to re-take Tal Abyad but to cut the Kurdish Cantons in half and do as much damage possible, reminiscent to theKobanî massacre.^[12]

The battle began when ISIL fighters infiltrated the suburbs of Tel Abyad, storming dozens of homes in the villages of Hamam Turkman and Ain al-Arous, and executing 23 civilians. A YPG spokesman claimed that some of the ISIL attackers of theDokumacılar faction had crossed fromTurkey to attack the town. Turkey quickly denied this claim. Russian Lt. Gen. Sergei Kuralenko the head ofRussia’s reconciliation monitoring center in Latakia, said that the assault on Tal Abyad involved up to 100 armed militants with heavy artillery support from Turkish territory.^[14] Other YPG sources claimed that Turkey had supplied ISIL fighters with both modern western equipment and information.^[8]

The two pronged offensive was launched against the Kurdish positions in the East of the city, withISIS using car bombs to attack checkpoints and mortar fire originating inRaqqa. The SDF headquarters in Tel Abyad was targeted and 5 other villages; Sharghrat, Kantari, Nastleh, Ghuwera and Qantrah were attacked.^[2][15] As ISIL overran large parts of the city, they also encircled a YPG headquarters near the Syrian-Turkish borders, where they captured Khaled Daham al Bashir. Khaled, who had fought ISIL with theFree Syrian Army in Deir ez-Zor before, was the cousin of Raghib al Bashir, head of al-Baqara tribe in theDeir ez-Zor Governorate. After his capture, he and three other SDF fighters were executed, with images of his beheading being posted by ISIL on his personal Facebook account.^[1]

During the battle ISIS fighters captured roughly 70% of the town (according to Turkish military officials) as well as the National Hospital and administrative buildings of Tal Abyad.^[4] Kurdish officials stated they were successful in repelling the attack and holding the town with the support of ten U.SCombined Joint Task Force airstrikes, and heavy reinforcements from mostly local Arab fighters fromJaysh al-Thuwar and theEuphrates Volcano, also part of the "Self-Defense Forces".

The offensive ended on 1 March, when the attack was repelled. According to the YPG, the bodies of 140 ISIS fighters were left behind.^[10] This toll was later raised to 291.^[12] The SDF gave their death toll as 43, mostly YPG fighters, and 23 civilians killed.^[10] The SOHR gave a differing death toll, in which 140 ISIS fighters died attacking the town along with 47 YPG and 15 civilians.^[9]

Mehmet Yuksel, a representative of the Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party to the United States argued that Ankara hired the attackers from Syrian refugee camps in Turkey.^{[citation needed]}

In response to the attack, theSDF launched"Revenge of Êlîn and Cûdî" (named after two Kurdish children in the Tel Abyad attack) on 3 March, the fourth major offensive againstISIS forces to the south^[16] that successfully reclaimed, with little resistance, open ISIL territory, hamlets and villages in southeasternTell Abyad District, northernDeir ez-Zor District and westernAl-Hasakah District. The two-pronged operation concluded sometime after SDF forces converged at Muqman inDeir ez-Zor District in 8 March, moving the Kurdish frontline closer towards theIslamic State stronghold ofRaqqa and the ISIS-controlled city ofDeir ez-Zor.

36°41′50″N38°57′18″E / 36.6973°N 38.9551°E /36.6973; 38.9551

• Battles of the Syrian civil war in 2016
• Military operations of the Syrian civil war involving the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
• February 2016 in Syria
• March 2016 in Syria
• Military operations of the Syrian civil war involving the Syrian Democratic Forces
• Military operations of the Syrian civil war involving the People's Defense Units

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