| Battle of al-Rai (August 2016) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theSyrian Civil War | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Free Syrian Army Harakat Nour al-Din al-ZenkiSupported by:  Turkey[1] |  Islamic State | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Ismail Ahwaz[2] (FSA commander)  Saleh Zein[3](Sham Legion field commander)  Col. Ahmed Osman[4](Sultan Murad Division squad commander)  Lt. Col. Abdul Moneim[4](Northern Division commander) | Unnamed ISIL leader (POW)[5] | ||||||
| Units involved | |||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Unknown | 10+ killed[6] | ||||||
TheBattle of al-Rai was fought in August 2016 between theFree Syrian Army (FSA) and theIslamic State in theborder town ofal-Rai, part of the northernAleppo Governorate on theborder with Turkey, which resulted in the FSA capturing the town.[7]
On 8 April 2016, rebels from theHawar Kilis Operations Room capturedal-Rai and more than a dozen other villages, but withdrew after an ISIL counter-offensive 3 days later that recaptured almost all the villages they have lost. The rebels also briefly took over the town for a few hours in June before being driven out.[3]
On 15 August 2016, after heavyartillery bombardment rebels began to storm the al-Raigrain silos and captured the silos along with several other positions.[7] However, they were forced to withdraw the next morning after an ISIL counterattack from the north which recaptured all the points ISIL lost.[8]Landmines played a role in slowing down the offensive.[2]
On 17 August, FSA fighters launched a second assault after targeting IS positions withrocket artillery, breaking through the first lines of defense and re-entering the town.[9] The FSA blew up 3car bombs during the battle[10] and fully captured al-Rai and itsborder crossing later that day, taking a number of surrendering ISIL militants asprisoners of war.[5]
On the same day, theUSAF operating as part of theCJTF-OIR conductedair support for the rebels during the battle by bombing several IS units near al-Rai.[11] Fighting continued in the outskirts of the town as ISIL retained its headquarters in nearby Dudyan.[2]
Due to the short time given to rebels to fortify the area, IS launched a rapid counter-offensive from the east on 19 August and recaptured the grain silos and nearby hilltops.[12] However, the rebels repelled the attack on the town and claimed to have killed more than 10 IS fighters.[6]FSA fighters also recaptured the grain silos the next day.[4]
On 20 August, a large number of rebels and a military convoy containing more than 50 vehicles loaded with heavy and medium weapons from al-Rai were transferred to the Turkish border withJarabulus, as theTurkish Armed Forces prepared for an attack on Jarabulus.[1]
Between 27 and 28 August, the rebels claimed to had capture three villages east of al-Rai.[13][14] However, it was reported that on 27 August, IS recaptured al-Rai.[15][16] The next day, al-Rai was once again reported to be rebel-held.[17] By 4 September, FSA captured all of the ISIL-controlled territory along the Turkish-Syrian border.[18]
