Key Facts
- Theater
- Hasakah Governorate, northeastern Syria
- Assyrian hostages abducted
- Up to 400
- Key towns retaken
- Tell Hamis and Tell Brak
- Conflict context
- Part of the broader Syrian Civil War
Strategic Narrative Overview
The YPG-led coalition and Syrian government forces conducted largely uncoordinated but parallel operations against ISIL across eastern Hasakah Governorate. Their combined pressure succeeded in driving Islamic State fighters from major towns including Tell Hamis and Tell Brak. In response to these losses, ISIL shifted its focus to the western part of the province, launching a large-scale counteroffensive intended to relieve pressure and regain initiative.
01 / The Origins
During the Syrian Civil War, the Islamic State (ISIL) seized portions of the Jazira Canton in the Hasakah Governorate, displacing local Kurdish, Assyrian, and Arab communities. The Kurdish-majority People's Protection Units (YPG), Assyrian militias, and allied Arab forces organized an offensive to reclaim these territories from ISIL, while the Syrian Armed Forces independently prepared their own assault against the jihadists in the same region.
03 / The Outcome
Kurdish and Syrian government forces recaptured the vast majority of eastern Hasakah Governorate from ISIL. However, ISIL's western counteroffensive resulted in the abduction of up to 400 Assyrian Christian civilians, causing a humanitarian crisis. The offensive did not produce a definitive end to hostilities in the governorate, and conflict continued as part of the broader Syrian Civil War.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Side B
4 belligerents
Kinetic Engagement Axis
Scroll horizontally to view full axis. Events plotted relatively.