Northern Aleppo offensive (February 2016)
The Northern Aleppo offensive (February 2016) refers to a military operation launched northwest of Aleppo in early February 2016 by the Syrian Arab Army and its allies. The offensive successfully broke the three-year Siege of Nubl and Al-Zahraa, effectively cutting off the main supply route of the Syrian rebels from Turkey.
Northern Aleppo offensive (February 2016) | |||||||||
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Part of the Battle of Aleppo and the Syrian Civil War | |||||||||
Syrian Army soldiers after breaking the siege of Nubl and Zahra | |||||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||||
Syrian Arab Republic |
Sham Legion Saudi Arabia Qatar | ||||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani Abdo Ibrahim (Afrin Canton defense minister) Sewsen Bîrhat (Aleppo YPJ commander) Wissi Hijazi ("Abu Uday Menagh") (Army of Revolutionaries commander) Zakur al-Diri (POW) (former Mountain Hawks Brigade commander, defected to the Army of Revolutionaries) |
Hashim al-Sheikh (overall rebel Aleppo commander) Nimr al-Shukri † (Ahrar ash-Sham Aleppo commander) Abu Ahmed al Abdullah † (al-Nusra Front Tell Rifaat commander) Abu Mustapha al-Saleh (Levant Front) Zekeriya Karsli (Levant Front) Ismail Nadef (POW) (Conquest Brigade) | ||||||||
Units involved | |||||||||
Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran Syrian Hezbollah units
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Casualties and losses | |||||||||
SAA & allies: 143 killed (48 Iraqis, 14 IRGC, 3 Hezbollah) SDF: 18 killed Total: 161 killed |
Fighting SAA & allies: 309–335 killed Fighting SDF: 88 killed Total: 397-423 killed | ||||||||
119–168 civilians killed (one Lebanese journalist) 50,000 civilians displaced |