November 2015 Sinjar offensive

November 2015 Sinjar offensive
Part of the War in Iraq (2013-2017), Spillover of the Syrian Civil War, and the American-led intervention in Iraq (2014–present)
Map of the concurrent offensives in al-Hawl and Sinjar, on 12 November 2015
Date 12–15 November 2015[6] 3 days) Location Nineveh Governorate, Iraq Result Kurdish and allies victory[7][8][9][10][11] Peshmerga and PKK forces capture Sinjar[12][13] and Gabara[14] Kurdish/Peshmerga forces cut three roads leading to Sinjar and ISIL's main Mosul–Raqqa supply route[14]
Belligerents
Kurdistan Êzîdxan Kurdistan/Peshmerga Command[1] PKK[1][2] Rojava[1] Supported by: CJTF–OIR[3] Air support:  United Kingdom[4]  Canada[5]  United States[3] MedEvac support:  Iraq[3]	Islamic State
Commanders and leaders
Masoud Barzani Maj. Gen. Aziz Waisi[2] Brig. Gen. Seme Mala Mohammed[15] Sheikh Alo[16] (Duhok region commander) Gen. Zaim Ali[17] (western area commander) Gen. Wahid Kovli (eastern area commander) Haydar Shesho[2] (HPŞ chief commander) Mazlum Shengal[18] (YBŞ chief commander) Berivan Arin[18] (YJÊ chief commander) Murat Karayılan (PKK leader) İsmail Özden Newroz Hatim †[6] (PKK field commander) Sipan Hemo (YPG supreme commander)	Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi Mullah Ghareeb al-Turkmani Abu Askar al-Shammary Abu Eisa al-Azeri Abu A'isha al-Juburi[19]
Units involved
Iraqi Kurdistan: Peshmerga Zeravani[2] Sinjar Alliance: HPŞ[1][2] YBŞ YJÊ PKK: HPG[1][2] YJA-Star MLKP[20] Rojava: YPG YPJ United States: U.S. Special Forces[21]	Unknown
Strength
7,500+[14]	~700[14] (in Sinjar city)
Casualties and losses
Unknown	300+ killed[22][23] 300+ wounded and captured [24][25]

The November Sinjar offensive was a combination of operations of Kurdish Peshmerga, PKK, and Yezidi Kurd militias in November 2015, to recapture the city of Sinjar from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. It resulted in a decisive victory for the Kurdish forces, who expelled the ISIL militants from Sinjar and regained control of Highway 47, which until then had served as the major supply route between the ISIL strongholds of Raqqa and Mosul.

The offensive was code-named "The Fury of Melek Taus", in reference to Melek Taus, a figure from Yezidi religion.^[26]

Background

Main articles: Sinjar massacre, Northern Iraq offensive (August 2014), and December 2014 Sinjar offensive

In August 2014, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant launched an offensive in Northern Iraq and pushed into Kurdish held areas of Nineveh Governorate, capturing the city of Sinjar, among others.

In what is known as the Sinjar massacre, 2,000–5,000 Yazidis were killed in and around Sinjar, while 200,000 civilians fled. Amongst these, some 50,000 Yazidis fled to the Sinjar Mountains, located to the city's north, where they were facing starvation and dehydration.^[27] By the end of August, the majority of these 50,000 Yazidis were able to leave the mountains through a corridor opened by Kurdish forces, although several thousands stayed there.

While ISIL held onto Sinjar city and the southern entrance of the Sinjar Mountains, they seized further terrain north of the mountains on 21 October 2014, thereby cutting the area's escape route to Kurdish areas. Yazidi militias who were securing the holy Sherfedîn shrine, had to withdraw into the Sinjar Mountains. The number of Yazidi civilian refugees was estimated at 2,000–7,000.^[28] An American source called this new situation a partial ISIL "siege" of the mountain range.^[29]

In the course of a first, six-day-long offensive in December 2014, Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga took control over a part of the city of Sinjar and parts of the mountains, and expanded their offensive on to Tal Afar. In early 2015, Kurdish forces also pushed closer to the City of Mosul in the Mosul offensive.

The offensive

First day

On 12 November 2015, over 7,500 Kurdish fighters, backed by the US-led coalition, began their offensive to retake Sinjar. Kurdish sources reported that they captured the village of Gabara and also had cut the highway between Sinjar and Syria.^[14] According to a Peshmerga official, U.S. and British special forces were also participating in the offensive.^[22] According to the same sources, 16 ISIL suicide attacks were thwarted.^[23] Later, it was reported that K forces had cut the Sinjar-Baiji and Sinjar-Tal Afar highways, effectively besieging ISIL in Sinjar. A Peshmerga commander hinted that no prisoners would be taken during the operation. ISIL counter-attacked in the western part of Sinjar, while hundreds of Peshmerga were waiting to be deployed in battle.^[17] Kurdish forces had secured the wheat silo, cement factory, hospital and several other public buildings in the northern part of the city, with reports that ISIL had fled Sinjar prior to the offensive. However, a Peshmerga official expressed his concern about possible suicide bombers remaining within the city. Kurdish forces also secured 150 square kilometres (60 square miles) of territory around Sinjar from ISIL.^[15]

At least 30 airstrikes by American warplanes, intended to soften up ISIL's military positions and uproot its fighters, were reported to have occurred on Thursday before the ground attack.^[2]

Second day: The retaking of Sinjar city

On the morning of 13 November 2015, the operation's second day, a Kurdish force including Syrian Kurdish YPG forces and Gerila forces of the HPG advanced to the city center from the west. There they were joined by Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga forces advancing from the east, including the Iraqi Kurdish Zeravani led by Major General Aziz Waisi and independent Yazidi forces led by Heydar Shesho.^[2] Subsequently, a stream of armed personnel carriers, Humvees, SUVs and light trucks were moved into the city. With a U.S. A-10 aircraft circling over the city, they took control of the city.^[2]

Filmmaker Carsten Stormer, who was embedded with the western frontline, reported they didn't face any fighting from the side of the Islamic State: "There was no resistance — I mean zero." He also confirmed the PKK-affiliated troops arrived first in this section, only then to be joined by the Peshmerga.^[2] According to The Economist, "IS forces reportedly pulled out of the town after two days of intense fighting, allowing the Peshmerga to walk in virtually unopposed on November 12th."^[30]

Third day

The next day, YBŞ and PKK units captured a number of strategically important villages west and south of Sinjar, most importantly Emdiban near the border to Syria. In course of these clashes, both ISIL as well as coalition forces suffered casualties; among them was the PKK field commander Newroz Hatim, who was killed near Midian village.^[6]

Coalition air support

During the whole week, Coalition aircraft had conducted over 250 airstrikes.^[3] Apart from U.S. aircraft, British Tornado GR4 and MQ-9 Reaper aircraft, operating from the Royal Air Force's Akrotiri base targeted ISIL positions near Sinjar and Tall Afar.^[4] CF-18 Hornet aircraft from the Royal Canadian Air Force were also reported to having contributed to the preparatory mission.^[5] Iraqi Security Force helicopters provided aerial MedEvac support conducting five casualty evacuations.^[3]

Aftermath

Dispute over credit for winning the battle

Though the presence of PKK, YPG and the Yezidi Kurd militias participating in the Sinjar Alliance has been covered by Kurdistan TV Broadcaster Rûdaw, both Kurdistan prime minister Nechirvan Barzani and president Massoud Barzani claimed the capture of Sinjar exclusively for the KRG's Peshmerga forces.^[1][13] Haydar Shesho, commander of the Protection Force of Sinjar (HPŞ), who before had been allied with the KRG peshmerga, warned of a "war over flags" and referred to the next battle being "the abolition of the one-party dictatorship".^[1]

Discovery of Yazidi mass graves

See also: Genocide of Yazidis by ISIL

Following the recapture, in Solagh, east of Sinjar city, Kurdish forces found a mass grave^[31] with the remains of at least 78 Yazidi women believed to be executed by ISIL militants.^[32] On 15 November 2015, yet another mass grave containing the remains of 50 Yezidi men was found at a place that used to be the Shingal Technical Institute's fish pond.^[33]

Allegations of retaliation against Sunni Muslim houses

According to witnesses, in an alleged act of retaliation, members of the Yazidi minority looted and burned Sunni Muslim houses following the recapture of the city.^{[citation needed]} However, the report was denied by Kurdish security commanders, and could not be independently confirmed. In the course of the Islamic State's Northern Iraq offensive in August 2014, some Sunni inhabitants had allegedly identified local Yazidis to the jihadists, thereby enabling the following Sinjar massacre.^[34]

See also

• American-led intervention in Iraq (2014–present)
• December 2014 Sinjar offensive
• Al-Hawl offensive
• Tishrin Dam offensive
• Al-Shaddadi offensive (2016)
• Fall of Mosul
• List of wars and battles involving the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
• Spillover of the Syrian Civil War

References

1. "Barzani: "Only the Peshmerga have liberated Shingal, no other unit has been involved"". ÊzîdîPress. 13 November 2015. Retrieved 15 November 2015.
2. Michael R. Gordon; Rukmini Callimachi (13 November 2015). "Kurdish Fighters Retake Iraqi City of Sinjar From ISIS". New York Times. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
3. "News Transcript: Department of Defense Press Briefing by Col. Warren via DVIDS from Baghdad, Iraq". U.S. Department of Defense. 13 November 2015. Retrieved 15 November 2015.
4. George Allison (13 November 2015). "Update: British Air Strikes In Iraq". UK Defence Journal. Retrieved 14 November 2015.
5. Justin Ling (14 November 2015). "Canada's Opposition Leader Urges Trudeau to Keep Bombing the Islamic State". Vice News. Retrieved 15 November 2015.
6. "Shingal: PKK and YBS fighters liberate villages in the west". Êzîdî Press. 15 November 2015. Retrieved 28 June 2016.
7. "Battle for Sinjar: IS-held town in Iraq 'liberated'". BBC News. 13 November 2015. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
8. "Kurdish fighters take control of Iraq's Sinjar". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
9. Coles, Isabel (13 November 2015). "Kurdish forces seize Iraq's Sinjar town from Islamic State". Reuters. Retrieved 23 August 2024.
10. "Iraqi Kurd leader declares Sinjar 'liberated' from ISIL". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
11. Hawramy, Fazel; Chulov, Martin (13 November 2015). "Peshmerga forces enter Sinjar in fight against Isis". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
12. Jason Hanna; Ed Payne (13 November 2015). "Sinjar has been liberated from ISIS, Kurds say". CNN. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
13. "Prime Minister Barzani's statement on the liberation of Sinjar". Archived from the original on 17 November 2015. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
14. Gordon, Michael R. (12 November 2015). "Kurds, Backed by U.S. Air Power, Try to Regain Sinjar From ISIS". The New York Times. Retrieved 18 August 2024 – via NYTimes.com.
15. "Iraqi Kurdistan president says ISIS defeated in Sinjar". The Daily Star Newspaper – Lebanon. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
16. "ISIS calls for 'jihad' against Peshmerga as it retreats in Shingal". Retrieved 13 November 2015.
17. "NO ESCAPE: Peshmerga close in on ISIS in Shingal". Retrieved 13 November 2015.
18. "Yezidi forces form alliance against IS". Êzîdî Press. 31 October 2015. Retrieved 28 June 2016.
19. "Opposition to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi: The Testimony of a Former Amni (II)".
20. "MLKP fighters also in Sinjar". Kurdish info. 23 August 2014. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
21. "Sinjar 'liberated' from Islamic State group control, Kurdish leaders say". 14 November 2015. Retrieved 15 November 2015.
22. "Kurds Say They Are Winning Battle For Sinjar". Sky News. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
23. "Peshmerga commander: 100 ISIS killed so far in Shingal". Retrieved 13 November 2015.
24. "ŞENGAL'DEN NAKİL: Musul ceset ve yaralı dolu!". Rudaw.
25. "OPERASYON %100 TAMAM: 300 IŞİD'li cesedi... Kurtarılan 28 köy". Rudaw.
26. "Massoud Barzani supervises Shingal operation". Kurdpress News Agency. 12 November 2015. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
27. "An Early Success for the Kurds in Sinjar". The New Yorker. 19 December 2014. Retrieved 19 December 2014.
28. "Iraq Sinjar battle (21 Oct 2014)". Agathocle de Syracuse. 21 October 2014. Archived from the original on 26 February 2015. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
29. "Islamic State counterattacks refinery as fight for Iraq swings back and forth". McClatchy DC. 22 December 2014. Archived from the original on 17 November 2015. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
30. "Retaking Sinjar trumps the killing of "Jihadi John"". The Economist. 13 November 2015. Retrieved 16 November 2015.
31. Isabel Coles (14 November 2015). "Mass Yazidi grave discovered after Iraq's Sinjar taken from Islamic State". Reuters. Retrieved 14 November 2015.
32. "Mass grave of 'Yazidi women executed by ISIS' found in Iraq". AFP. 14 November 2015. Retrieved 14 November 2015.
33. "New mass grave containing 50 Yezidi men discovered in Shingal". Rûdaw. 15 November 2015. Retrieved 15 November 2015.
34. "Witnesses say Yazidis burned Muslim homes in Sinjar after recapture". AFP. 15 November 2015. Retrieved 18 November 2015 – via Middle East Eye.

External links