| Battle of Markada | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Syrian civil war and the Syrian opposition–Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant conflict | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Al-Nusra Front |
 Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
Abu Muhammad Al-Joulani (leader of the Al-Nusra Front) |
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi (leader of ISIS) Omar al-Farouk al-Turki † (top provincial ISIS commander)[1] | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 120 killed[2] | |||||||
The Battle of Markada is a battle between two rebel groups, the Al-Nusra Front and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS), over the town of Markada in Al-Hasakah Governorate, during the Syrian civil war.[2] The strategic importance of the town to the ISIS lay in its position on the group's weapons supply route from Iraq, the road linking Al-Hasakah with Deir ez-Zor and a hill that dominates the surrounding area.[3]
The battle[]
The battle started on 21 March 2014,[2] with fighting near Markada's grain silos that left 27 Nusra fighters dead and others missing.[4]
On the morning of 27 March, the ISIS attacked the town, which was being held by the Al-Nusra Front. The ISIS managed to force Nusra to withdraw to the town's hospital and the mountain overlooking Markada.[5]
Before dawn on 29 March, clashes erupted in the town[6] as the ISIS attacked the hospital and Nusra positions in the mountain.[5] After heavy fighting that left 43 Nusra and 13 ISIS fighters dead,[4] the ISIS took fool control of the town,[1] with Nusra forces retreating towards the town of al-Sour in the eastern rural area of Deir ez-Zor province. Many Nusra fighters were also captured.[7] Among those killed was also the top provincial ISIS commander,[1] Omar al-Farouk al-Turki.[5]
On 31 March, Nusra launched a counter-attack in an attempt to recapture the town.[4] By this time, the number of those killed since the start of the fighting had risen to 120.[2]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 ISIS seizes town from Nusra in Hassakeh province
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Syrian army retakes key post in regime bastion Latakia
- ↑ At least 52 dead fighters from the front and the victory of the Islamic State
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Syria killed 30 Islamic state in Iraq and the Levant Brive-Hasakah
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Organization "Daash" controlled Mrkdh, and mourns his military commander in the Al-Hasakah
- ↑ A bomb explosion in Deir al-Zour and clashes in Al-Hasakah
- ↑ ISIS kills 35 fighters from Jabhat Al-Nusra and Islamic battalions
The original article can be found at Battle of Markada and the edit history here.