Battle of Sarrin (March–April 2015)

Battle of Sarrin
Part of the Syrian Civil War, Syrian Kurdish–Islamist conflict (2013–present) and the American-led intervention in Syria
Date 17–28 March 2015 (1 week and 4 days) Location Sarrin, Kobanî Canton, Syria Result Ongoing
Belligerents
Syrian Kurdistan YPG YPJ Free Syrian Army Supported by: CJTF-OIR Peshmerga	Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
Casualties and losses
5+ YPG and allies killed	169+ killed

The Battle of Sarrin refers to a military operation during 2015 in the Aleppo Governorate, during the Syrian Civil War, conducted by Kurdish YPG forces against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in the town of Sarrin.

The assault

Between 17 and 19 March, the YPG seized a hill overlooking Sarrin, the last remaining ISIL stronghold in the southern part of the Kobanî Canton. ISIL gathered reinforcements and massed its forces near Sarrin, to prevent Kurdish and allied forces from reaching the city, while the US-led Coalition conducted numerous airstrikes in the area. It was also reported that the Kurds seized the village of Sal in the southern Kobanî countryside on 18 March, but this was not confirmed. The clashes on 18 March resulted in the deaths of at least 27 ISIL militants.

On 20 March, the YPG and the allied Burkan al-Furat, backed by Coalition air support, launched an assault towards Sarrin, which led to hit-and-run fighting that was continuing as of 27 March.

On 21 March, YPG and FSA forces completely besieged the Sarrin Grain Silo. A total of 71 ISIL militants and 1 FSA fighter were killed during the clashes and Coalition strikes. On the night between 22 and 23 March, ISIL dispatched reinforcements to Sarrin, across the Tishrin Dam, which the Coalition could not target, due to the risks that destroying the dam would pose to those living downstream.

On 25 March, ISIL forces attacked the village of Qara Qozak by boat, but the attack was repelled by the YPG and airstrikes struck the gathered ISIL forces on the other side of the river. The clashes left at least 71 ISIL militants and 4 YPG fighters dead. Two days later, fighting in the southern villages of Sebti and Khani left three ISIL militants dead.

On 28 March, ISIL launched a counterattack and managed to break through the Kurd's M4 highway defensive line and reach ISIL fighters at the Grain Silos and the Lafarge Cement Plant, where they had been besieged for almost two weeks. The next day, YPG fighters began shelling ISIL positions in Sarrin.

In early April, ISIL continued forcing Kurdish forces back from the outskirts of Sarrin to the north and the north-west towards Qara Qozak. Still, the YPG continued to hold the higher ground in the area. The ISIL advance cut the M4 highway between Dar Al-Kharab and Mitras and allowed the jihadists to reinforce their positions at the Grain Silos. By 9 April, ISIL forces, after receiving more reinforcements, broke across the M4 highway near Mitras and the Grain Silos, and at Nur Ali and Hamadoun, to the east.

On 20 April, YPG forces launched an offensive east of Sarrin, taking the villages of Mitras, Qirat, and Serekaniye. This cut off a major ISIL supply line to Sarrin. Now the town was surrounded on 3 sides.

See also

• Sinjar massacre
• Sinjar offensive
• Siege of Kobanî
• Al-Hasakah offensive (February–March 2015)
• Second Battle of Tikrit (March–April 2015)
• Liberation of Mosul
• Military intervention against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
  • American-led intervention in Syria
• List of wars and battles involving the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant

External links

• Operation Inherent Resolve airstrike updates
• ISIL frontline maps (Syria)