2016 Abu Kamal offensive

The 2016 Abu Kamal offensive, also known as Operation Day of Wrath, was launched on the town of Abu Kamal on the Syrian–Iraqi border led by the US-backed New Syrian Army (NSA).^[11]

Abu Kamal offensive (2016)
Part of inter-rebel conflict of the Syrian civil war and the international military intervention against ISIL
Map of the offensive
Date 28–29 June 2016 (1 day) Location Abu Kamal District, Deir-Ez-Zor Governorate, Syria 34.4463°N 40.9210°E / 34.4463; 40.9210 Result ISIL victory[1][2][3][4] The FSA withdraws from all positions it had captured back to its base at al-Tanf[4][5]
Belligerents
Free Syrian Army Supported by: CJTF–OIR  United States CIA[6]  Jordan	Islamic State Wilayat al-Furat
Commanders and leaders
Khazal al-Sarhan (New Syrian Army commander) Mozahem al-Saloum (NSA spokesman)[7]	Unknown
Units involved
New Syrian Army[8] Pro-NSA Arab clans[8] Southern Front Lions of the East Army[7] Ahmad al-Abdo Martyrs Forces[8]	Unknown
Strength
125–200 NSA fighters[2][9]	Unknown
Casualties and losses
40 killed, 15 captured (ISIL claim)[2] 25+ killed or captured (SOHR claim)[2] 5–40+ killed (NSA claim)[5][10]	20 killed (NSA claim)[2]

The offensive

On 28 June 2016, the New Syrian Army rebels launched the offensive from at-Tanf and occupied the village of al-Sukkariya north of Abu Kamal, the nearby Hamdan Military Airfield, and the Ayshat al-Khayri Hospital in northern Abu Kamal, all of which were unguarded by ISIL. They also established several positions in the desert between the Tanf border crossing and Abu Kamal. Some NSA troops were airlifted to the area by three Coalition helicopters while a sizable convoy of US provided vehicles made its way from the at-Tanf garrison toward Abu Kamal. The NSA advance was aided by FSA covert supporters inside the city.^[8] At the same time as the operation started, it was reported that Iraqi Federal Police forces were preparing to simultaneously attack the town of al-Qa'im, on the Iraqi side of the border.^[11] However, Iraqi Sunni tribesmen were the ones in fact involved in the operation, and acted ”precipitously and insufficiently in their role”, alerting ISIL of the offensive.^[9] ISIL then proceeded to cut power and communications in Abu Kamal, followed by digging trenches around the city.^[12]

On the next day, US air support was withdrawn to take part in the Third Battle of Fallujah.^[5] ISIL recaptured the airbase, pushed the rebels back from the outskirts of Abu Kamal, and attacked the supply lines of the NSA through the empty desert. ISIL fighters encircled the rebels in a surprise ambush. They inflicted heavy casualties on the rebels, and NSA weapons and vehicles were seized by the jihadists. The rebels initially retreated to the outlying desert areas,^[13][14] before fully pulling back to their base at the at-Tanf border crossing, 200 miles away.^[4][5] The lack of US air support was blamed as the key factor contributing to the NSA's defeat, but without coalition air controllers on the ground, it was unlikely the air support would have made any significant contribution.

The offensive was described by some as a ”crippling defeat” and a ”Bay-of-Pigs-style fiasco” for the rebels,^[1][9] while the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights director stated after the defeat that the whole operation ”was more a media show than anything else”.^[2] The U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter stated, in regards to the pulling back of the air support for the rebels, ”We missed an opportunity”.^[15]

Losses

In an ISIL propaganda video, the NSA suffered 2 known deaths on the battlefield along with 3 fighters from the Ahmad al-Abdo Martyr group who were killed in an ISIL ambush while retreating from Abu Kamal. ISIL, however, claimed 40 NSA deaths and 15 captured along with the seizure of a large amount of weaponry consisting of mostly heavy machine guns, mortars, and assault rifles. In addition, ISIL suffered 20 deaths according to the NSA in a combination of a total of 13 Coalition air-strikes and their ground offensive operation. In one instance, a pro-NSA sleeper cell group in Abu Kamal detonated a car bomb that killed 3 ISIL fighters.^[16]

See also

• 2017 Abu Kamal offensive
• Deir ez-Zor Governorate campaign

References

1. "US Backed New Syrian Army Suffers Crippling Defeat". Archived from the original on 13 August 2016. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
2. Times, Los Angeles (29 June 2016). "U.S.-backed rebels launched their first attack against Islamic State. They lost". Los Angeles Times.
3. "ISIS repels advance by U.S.-backed Syria rebels near Iraq border".
4. "Islamic State routs Pentagon-backed Syrian rebels in fresh setback for U.S. strategy". The Washington Post.
5. Thomas Gibbons-Neff; Liz Sly (6 July 2016). "U.S. jets abandoned Syrian rebels in the desert. Then they lost a battle to ISIS". The Washington Post. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
6. "CIA Funded and SOF Trained: The New Syrian Army Hits the Ground". Sofrep. 11 September 2015.
7. "US-Backed Syrian Rebels Move Toward IS-Held Town Near Iraq". ABC News. Associated Press. 28 June 2016.
8. "ISIS on alert as rebels advance near Syria-Iraq border". Now News. 29 June 2016. Archived from the original on 30 June 2016. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
9. Weiss, Michael (1 July 2016). "They Rescued This Town from ISIS, Then Lost It". The Daily Beast.
10. Syria: IS retakes Hamdan airport base, rebels flee to al-Tanf
11. Leith Fadel. "US begins new operation to drive ISIS away from Iraq-Syria border". almasdarnews.com. Archived from the original on 29 March 2018. Retrieved 28 June 2016.
12. "Syria rebels battle IS at Iraqi border, aim to cut 'caliphate' in two". Reuters. 29 June 2016.
13. "Islamic State forces Syria rebels to retreat from border area". Reuters. 29 June 2016. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
14. Adra, Zen (29 June 2016). "In video: ISIS overruns US-backed fighters in Eastern Syria". Archived from the original on 24 August 2018. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
15. "Pentagon chief on pulling air support for U.S.-backed rebels: 'We missed an opportunity'". The Washington Post.
16. "The Battle of al-Bukamal: Here's What Really Happened - bellingcat". 31 July 2016. Archived from the original on 8 October 2016. Retrieved 19 August 2016.