Key Facts
- Conflict period
- 2016–2017
- Governorate
- Aleppo Governorate, Syria
- Primary attacker (north)
- Turkish Armed Forces & Syrian rebel groups
- Defender
- Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL)
- Concurrent operations
- Raqqa campaign, Battle of Mosul, Palmyra offensive
Strategic Narrative Overview
Three distinct offensives converged on al-Bab from different directions: Turkish-backed Syrian rebel groups attacked from the north, the SDF advanced from the east and west, and Syrian government forces pushed up from the south. Fighting was intense, with ISIL mounting stiff resistance. The concurrent fall of Aleppo to government forces and an alleged diplomatic arrangement between Turkey and Syria shaped the boundaries each force would ultimately control, limiting SDF expansion westward.
01 / The Origins
Al-Bab, a strategic city in Aleppo Governorate, was held by ISIL and became a target of multiple converging forces in late 2016. Turkey launched Operation Euphrates Shield partly to expel ISIL from northern Syria and prevent Syrian Kurdish forces from consolidating a contiguous territorial corridor along the Turkish border. Simultaneously, the Syrian Democratic Forces and the Syrian Army pursued their own separate offensives against ISIL and competing territorial interests around the city.
03 / The Outcome
Turkish-led forces captured al-Bab along with Qabasin and Bizaah, completing their primary objective under Operation Euphrates Shield. The Syrian Army secured Tadef and surrounding southern areas, while the SDF consolidated gains to the east and west. The outcome fragmented the former ISIL-held zone among multiple rivals and entrenched Turkish military influence in northern Aleppo Governorate, while foreclosing a continuous Kurdish-controlled corridor along the Syrian-Turkish border.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
4 belligerents
Side B
1 belligerent
Kinetic Engagement Axis
Scroll horizontally to view full axis. Events plotted relatively.