This week in Northern Syria (VIII)
This week in Northern Syria (VIII)
A rundown of key events from Turkish/SNA & SDF-controlled territories
This post covers the events of August 23rd - 29th. The next issue covering the first week of September will be out in the next day or so. Apologies for the delay but given my current work schedule please expect the last post of each month to come out about a week late.
While technically outside the area covered by this newsletter, the biggest news story in Syria at the end of August was the series of American airstrikes carried out over a three day period against Iranian-backed militias in Deir ez-Zour. The first round of strikes occurred on August 23rd and targeted ammunition storage bunkers at a facility near the town of Ayyash, located on the western bank of the Euphrates. According to CENTCOM’s statement these were “intended to defend and protect U.S. forces from attacks like the ones on August 15 against U.S. personnel by Iran-backed groups,” in reference to two attacks which targeted US bases at al-Tanf (on the Syria-Iraq-Jordan border) and at the ‘Green Village’ in eastern Deir ez-Zour.
In turn this prompted two days of back and forth attacks featuring Iranian-backed militias using rockets to target the ‘Green Village’ and ‘Conoco’ bases, and US air power striking sites near the cities of Deir ez-Zour and Mayadin. CENTCOM reported that three US service members were injured on August 24th, while the American response allegedly killed “two or three suspected Iran-backed militants.” The following day CENTCOM claimed that it “struck at Iran-affiliated militants in the area with AH-64 Apache attack helicopters, AC-130 gunships, and M777 artillery, resulting in four enemy fighters killed and seven enemy rocket launchers destroyed.” A US official told BBC that no Iranians were killed, however the nationality of those killed is still unclear as casualties could potentially be from the ranks of Syrian, Iraqi, Afghani or Pakistani militias operating in the area.
Reporting on this turn of events has highlighted two interesting dynamics at play. According to the New York Times, the August 15th attacks on US bases were likely a retaliation on the part of the IRGC and its allies for Israeli airstrikes targeting their facilities in western Syria:
A senior U.S. official said there were several possible motives for Iran’s Aug. 15 attack. It could be a response to an Israeli strike or a new commander, said the official, who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive security issues. But the use of drones pointed clearly to the involvement of the Revolutionary Guards…
About a year ago, an Iranian-led alliance opposed to Israel met virtually to discuss how to respond to increasing Israeli attacks inside Syria, according to Gheis Ghoreishi, an analyst close to Iran’s government with knowledge of the Revolutionary Guards’ strategy in the region. It brought together military experts from Syria, Iraq, the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, Yemen and Iran’s Quds forces — the overseas arm of the Revolutionary Guards…
During their discussions, the Syrians said they did not want attacks against Israel to be launched from their territory so as not to risk an all-out war at a time when the country is already weakened. So the alliance decided instead to retaliate for the Israeli strikes by hitting American bases in Syria, hoping that Washington would then pressure Israel to back off Iran.
Meanwhile, citing a since deleted tweet by the DoD’s Operation Inherent Resolve Twitter account, the Wall Street Journal reported that drones involved in the August 15th attack on al-Tanf were launched by Kata’ib Hizbullah from central Iraq.
Throughout his administration, President Biden has chosen to retaliate against drone attacks by militias on Iraqi territory by striking targets in Syria or in far western Iraq near the Syrian-Iraqi border.
In line with that strategy, the Biden administration opted to retaliate against the drone attack from Iraq with airstrikes on Aug. 24 against Iranian-backed militias in Syria. The approach appears intended to contain Iran’s regional ambitions, without intervening in Iraq’s turbulent politics.
To sum that up: Israel periodically attacks Iran and its allies in Syria, Iran and its allies in turn attack the US from inside Iraq (as well as Syria) in order to avoid further Israeli escalation against the Syrian regime, while the US responds by attacking Iran and its allies in Syria as to not further destabilize the currently tumultuous Iraqi political scene.
A summary of the not-very-straightforward rationale behind the US’s continued military presence in Syria can be read here.
Events
08/23/22: A grave containing five unidentified bodies, including a woman and child, was discovered just east of A‘zaz. Historical satellite imagery of the area shows the dirt having been disrupted in the first half of 2014 though this is not conclusive evidence as to when the bodies were buried. From 2014 to 2016 this area repeated changed hands between the Islamic State and opposition groups.
possible mass grave/garbage dump at the location of the pictures google.com/maps?ll=36.584… next to the road between Azaz and Naddah on satellite from 11 July 2014
انتهت فرقنا بالتعاون مع الجهات المحلية من انتشال رفات 5 جثث مجهولة الهوية عثر عليها في مقبرة جماعية خلال أعمال توسعة طريق ندة - اعزاز شمالي #حلب اليوم الثلاثاء 23 آب. فرقنا نقلت الرفات إلى مشفى اعزاز، وبحسب الطبابة الشرعية يوجد بينها رفاتي طفل وامرأة. #الخوذ_البيضاء https://t.co/ZY0wN3nN8I
الدفاع المدني السوري @SyriaCivilDefe
08/24/22: A Turkish loitering munition struck the city of Tell Rifa’at initially killing three civilians and wounding six others, including a child. The drone landed in on a commercial street, between an ice cream cart and a garage.
Location of the Turkish drone strike in central Tell Rifa'at earlier today which reported killed two civilians and injured seven others 36.470387, 37.094444
One of the wounded, a man named Zuhair ‘Abd al-Rahman Muhammed, died of his injuries several days later. Local hospital staff blamed his death on the Syrian regime, due to its blocking critical medical supplies from entering the SDF-controlled al-Shahba’ region. Rojava Information Center recently published a Twitter thread detailing a similar regime blockade on the SDF-controlled Sheikh Maqsud enclave in Aleppo city.
08/24/22: SNA coalition Harakat Tha’iroun announced the seizure of 1.5 million captagon pills in a raid by its security forces. They did not specify where the raid took place but claimed the pills were smuggled into SNA territory from regime controlled areas by Hizbullah operatives.
08/25/22: The Asayish announced the launching of the second phase of the ‘Humanity and Security’ campaign targeting IS operatives in the al-Hawl camp. The first phase took place earlier in this year, between March 28th and April 2nd, and resulted in the arrest of 125 individuals.
08/27/22: Clashes broke out between the SNA Military Police and members of the al-Mawali tribe on the Afrin-Rajo road outside the village of Kokanê Jêrin (كوكان تحتاني) after the former entered the village in an attempt to arrest individuals wanted for drug trafficking. The dispute was finally resolved three days later when large scale SNA mobilization forced the al-Mawali to turn over the wanted individuals. Al-Mawali tribesmen have been involved in numerous clashes with SNA factions and other tribes this year (the distinctions between the two tend to blend together).
A Military Police vehicle damaged by al-Mawali gunmen (source) 
#عاجل | اشتباكات عنيفة استخدمت فيها الأسلحة المتوسطة بين الشرطة العسكرية و أفراد من "عشيرة #الموالي" بقرية #كوكان بريف #عفرين #تلفزيون_إدلب ldlib TV t.me/IdlibTV
Location of the video above here. It appears to be the site of a sizable Military Police checkpoint built in 2019. 08/29/22: Two members of al-Jabhah al-Shamiyah were assassinated by unknown assailants while traveling by car on the road between Cindires and Afrin. Between HTS, the SDF, SNA rivals, the Islamic State, or other actors, it’s really impossible to speculate who may be responsible.
08/29/22: al-Jabhah al-Shamiyah/3rd Legion launched a security campaign against Hizb al-Tahrir in the town of Souran. I only mention this because it’s always crazy to me how much of a following Hizb al-Tahrir has around the globe, despite seemingly doing nothing anywhere (outside of a protest I once witnessed in London outside the Indian Embassy with signs calling India the ‘rape capital of the world’).
Other
Photograph of Damascus following French aerial and artillery bombardment during the Great Syrian Revolt (1925-1927). I don’t remember the specific qualifier I’ve heard but this was one of the first instances of mass aerial bombardment on an urban center in history. More images available here.
Previously unreleased CCTV footage of the August 19th Grad rocket attack on al-Bab, carried out by either regime forces or the SDF.
