Battle of al-Rai (August 2016)

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The Battle of al-Rai was a battle fought in August 2016 between the Free Syrian Army (FSA) and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in the border town of al-Rai, part of the northern Aleppo Governorate on the border with Turkey, which resulted in the FSA capturing the town.

Background

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Main article: Northern Aleppo offensive (March–June 2016)

On 8 April 2016, rebels from the Hawar Kilis Operations Room captured al-Rai and more than a dozen other villages, but withdrew after an ISIL counteroffensive 3 days later that recaptured almost all the villages they have lost. The rebels also briefly took over the town for a few hours in June before being driven out.[1]

The battle

On 15 August 2016, after heavy artillery bombardment rebels began to storm the al-Rai grain silos and captured the silos along with several other positions.[2] However, they were forced to withdraw the next morning after an ISIL counterattack from the north which recaptured all the points ISIL lost.[3] Landmines played a role in slowing down the offensive.[4]

On 17 August, FSA fighters launched a second assault after targeting IS positions with rocket artillery, breaking through the first lines of defense and re-entering the town.[5] The FSA blew up 3 car bombs during the battle[6] and fully captured al-Rai and its border crossing later that day, taking a number of surrendering ISIL militants as prisoners of war.[7]

On the same day, the USAF operating as part of the CJTF-OIR conducted air support for the rebels during the battle by bombing several IS units near al-Rai.[8] Fighting continued in the outskirts of the town as ISIL retained its headquarters in nearby Dudyan.[4]

Due to the short time given to rebels to fortify the area, IS launched a rapid counter-offensive from the east on 19 August and recaptured the grain silos and nearby hilltops.[9] However, the rebels repelled the attack on the town and claimed to have killed more than 10 IS fighters.[10] FSA fighters also recaptured the grain silos the next day.[11]

Aftermath

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Main article: Jarabulus offensive (2016)

On 20 August, a large number of rebels and a military convoy containing more than 50 vehicles loaded with heavy and medium weapons from al-Rai were transferred to the Turkish border with Jarabulus, as the Turkish Armed Forces prepared for an attack on Jarabulus.[12]

Between 27 and 28 August, the rebels claimed to had capture three villages east of al-Rai.[13][14] However, it was reported that on 27 August, IS recaptured al-Rai.[15][16] The next day, al-Rai was once again reported to be rebel-held.[17] By 4 September, FSA captured all of the ISIL-controlled territory along the Turkish-Syrian border.[18]

References

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  1. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named grain
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  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named regulation
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.[permanent dead link]
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named 4s
  11. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named car
  12. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Turkey
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ IS is losing connection with the international world and being besieged inside the Syrian lands SOHR (4 September 2016)
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