Raqqa campaign (2016–2017)

Raqqa campaign (2016–2017)
	Part of the Rojava–Islamist conflict and the American-led intervention in the Syrian Civil War
	; Top: A map of the SDF advances in the Raqqa Governorate; Bottom: A map of the SDF advances inside of Raqqa city itself
Date	6 November 2016 – 20 October 2017; (11 months and 2 weeks)
Location	Raqqa Governorate and northern Deir ez-Zor Governorate, Syria35.9500°N 39.0100°E
Result	Decisive SDF / CJTF-OIR victory The SDF captures more than 236 villages, hamlets and strategic hills, two water and power stations, Tabqa Airbase, Tabqa city, Tabqa Dam, and Baath Dam; The SDF comes within 5 km of the Islamic State's capital city of Raqqa, in early February 2017; The SDF enters Raqqa city on 6 June 2017, and completely captures it on 17 October 2017;
Territorial; changes	The SDF captures more than 7,400 square kilometres (2,900 sq mi) of territory from ISIL during the first, second and third phases of the campaign
Belligerents
Syrian Democratic Forces; Self Defence Forces (HXP); Leftist/anarchist volunteers; CJTF–OIR United States; France; United Kingdom; Germany; Iraqi Kurdistan Co-belligerents; Syrian Arab Republic; Russia	Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
Commanders and leaders
Sipan Hemo; (YPG chief commander); Rojda Felat; (Leading YPJ commander); Kino Gabriel; (MFS commander); Fayad Ghanim; (Raqqa Hawks Brigade commander); Abu Issa; (Jabhat Thuwar al-Raqqa chief commander); Muhedi Jayila; (Elite Forces commander); Bandar al-Humaydi; (Al-Sanadid Forces military chief commander); Siyamend Welat; (HXP chief commander); Lt. Gen. Stephen J. Townsend; (CJTF–OIR chief commander); For other anti-ISIL commanders, see order of battle	Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi (WIA); (Leader of ISIL); Abu Jandal al-Kuwaiti †; (Leading ISIL commander for Raqqa defenses, c. 11–26 December); Abu Saraqeb al-Maghribi; (Head of security in Al-Thawrah); Abu Jandal al-Masri; (Chief of Information in Raqqa); Abu Muhammad al-Jazrawi; (Chief of Al-Hisba secret police; Mahmoud al-Isawi †; (ISIL propaganda chief); Abd al-Basit al-Iraqi †; (ISIL commander of Middle East external networks); Zainuri Kamaruddin †; (Katibah Nusantara commander); Abu Luqman; (ISIL governor of Raqqa); For other ISIL commanders, see order of battle
Units involved
See anti-ISIL forces order of battle	See ISIL order of battle
Strength
30,000–40,000 SDF fighters (70% Arab acc. to the SDF) 25,000 YPG & YPJ fighters 1,000 female Arab volunteers; ; 1,000 Raqqa Hawks fighters; 650–3,500 Elite Forces fighters; 2,000 Al-Sanadid fighters; 500 Deir Ezzor Military Council fighters; 200 Syriac Military Council fighters; 2,550 Manbij Military Council fighters; 3,870 local pro-SDF tribes and village militia; 500 HXP soldiers; 503 USSOCOM Soldiers; 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit; Several Dozens of Special Forces and military advisers Several Tupolev Tu-95 bombers	10,000–20,000+ fighters (estimate by Western SDF volunteers & some experts) Raqqa city: c. 5,000 fighters; Large number of reinforcements from Mosul and al-Bab 200 Iraqi reinforcements; ; Unknown number of child soldiers; Unknown number of UAVs (drones)
Casualties and losses
1,100–1,200+ killed, 2,500+ wounded (per US); 793 killed, 1,685 wounded (per SDF); 1 killed 1 killed	3,784+ killed and 38 captured (SDF claim; up to 31 Aug. 2017, excluding July 2017); 6,000 killed (US claim)
	2,385 civilians killed; 200,000 civilians displaced

The Raqqa campaign (codenamed Operation Wrath of Euphrates) was a military operation launched in November 2016 during the Rojava–Islamist conflict by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in the Raqqa Governorate, with the goal of isolating and eventually capturing the Islamic State's capital city, Raqqa. The SDF's subsidiary goals included capturing the Tabqa Dam, the nearby city of al-Thawrah, and the Baath Dam further downstream. The campaign ended successfully in October 2017, with the capture of Raqqa.

The offensive was concurrent with the Battle of Sirte in Libya, the Battle of Mosul in Iraq, the Battle of al-Bab in the Aleppo Governorate, the Palmyra offensive, the reignition of fighting in Deir ez-Zor's siege, the Central Syria campaign, and the Mayadin offensive.

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