Syrian War

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Assad forces take Marj al-Sultan near Damascus

Syrian government forces took Marj al-Sultan, with its airbase, from the rebels on 14 December 2015. The town and its airbase, located east of Damascus, had been captured by the rebels back in 2012.

Warfare in Damascus and its outskirts is largely positional, with rare changes in territorial control. Capture of Marj al-Sultan represents one such change.

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Daesh [ISIS] retakes Mahin

On 10 December 2015 Daesh retook town of Mahin.

The town was taken by Assad’s forces on 22-23 November 2015, while Daesh had originally captured it on 31 October 2015. Thus, this is the third time the town is changing hands in the second half of 2015.

The town’s strategic importance comes from it being positioned close to the strategic Damascus-Homs highway.

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Syrian rebels advance against ISIS in the border region

Western-backed Syrian rebels gained ground against ISIS on 21 November 2015. The advance occurred along the Turkish-Syrian border. The territory regained by the rebels includes villages Delha and Harjalah.

The area where the rebels have advanced is located in the region designated by U.S. and Turkey for their announced operation aimed at removing ISIS from the portion of the border which it still controls.

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Regularly updated interactive map of war in Syria & Iraq. Press View Larger Map for better view:

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The new route of Russian Tu-160 bombers to Syria

Russia used unusual route to Syria for its heavy strategic Tu-160 bombers. Instead of flying from Russia over the Caspian Sea, Iran, Iraq and into Syria, as Russian military aircraft usually do, Tu-160s went from their northern Olenegorsk base around Europe, over Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean, from which they launched their missiles. Afterwards they continued to fly over Syria, returning to Russia through Iraq, Iran and the Caspian Sea.

Notably, these heavy bombers hit targets in Idlib, which means that they attacked Syrian rebels instead of Islamic State again.

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ISIS loses Al Hawl

It turns out that Islamic State has suffered another defeat at the hands of the Kurds. Syrian Kurds, in alliance with the Arab Syrian rebels, as well as the local Christian and tribal Arab groups, launched attack against IS in the area of Syria-Iraq border, west of Sinjar and east of Al Hasakah. On 11 November 2015 they took village Al-Khatuniyah, and on 13 November, the same day when Sinjar was liberated from IS, they took the town of Al Hawl as well.

This is another defeat of the IS by the Kurds, who have so far proved its most formidable local opponents on the front lines.

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U.S. and Turkey announce the operation to establish control over border region

On 17 November 2015 U.S. and Turkey formally launched an operation to take back a portion of Turkish-Syrian border from Islamic State. The operation is supposed to involve air campaign, with American and Turkish-backed rebel units capturing territory from ISIS on the ground. The territory in question stretches from Azaz to Jarabulus, possibly stretching southward towards Manbij and Al Bab.

If successful, this operation could fully cut ISIS from the border with Turkey.

The special Turkish interest is prevention of the takeover of this territory by Syrian Kurds, which would place almost all of Syrian-Turkish border under Kurdish control (except small portion near Mediterranean) and unite all Kurdish enclaves in Syria into a single territorial entity. This scenario is unacceptable to Turkey. The latter made that clear after Syrian Kurds took over another area on the Turkish-Syrian border in June 2015.

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Assad forces take Al Hader and Tel Hadya in Aleppo Province

During 12-13 November 2015 Syrian government forces achieved their largest success after the launch of their northern offensive against the rebel forces. They have taken over considerable territory with the town Al Hader and village Tel Hadya south-west of Aleppo city.

This advance by the Assad forces could potentially represent serious threat to the rebels’ position in Aleppo and Idlib region.

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Assad’s forces score successes in Aleppo Province

Syrian government forces have achieved several successes in the Aleppo region.

On 10 November 2015 they pierced the Islamic State blockade of Kwaires air base, gaining a corridor to this besieged location.

Besides, during the last several days Assad forces have taken over a number of areas south of Aleppo city and west of Al-Safirah from the Syrian rebels. As a result, they have considerably widened their foothold in Aleppo Province.

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Syrian rebels retake Atshan

On 6 November 2015 Syrian rebels took back village Atshan, which had been taken by the Assad forces on 10 October 2015.

Atshan is located east of Morek, which had been retaken by rebels on 4 November. Its loss is another setback for the Assad forces, whose offensive in the area north of Hama has failed so far, despite Russian air support.

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Regularly updated interactive map of war in Syria & Iraq. Press View Larger Map for better view:

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Syrian rebels take Morek

On 4 November 2015 Syrian rebels have taken the town of Morek from the Assad forces. After the rebels cut the road south of Morek, which leads from the town to the rest of the Assad-controlled territory, the Syrian government garrison of the town retreated without a fight for fear of being surrounded.

Morek had been taken by the Assad forces from the rebels a year ago, on 25 October 2014.

Its loss is another setback for the Assad forces, whose northern offensive against the rebels has been unsuccessful.

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Regularly updated interactive map of war in Syria & Iraq. Press View Larger Map for better view:

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The permanent page of this interactive map is here: 

Syria & Iraq War Interactive Map