Al-Shaddadah


Al-Shaddadah or al-Shaddadi is a town in southern al-Hasakah Governorate, northeastern Syria. The town is the administrative center of the al-Shaddadah Nahiya, which consists of 16 municipalities. At the 2004 census, al-Shaddadah had a population of 15,806. As a result of the ongoing Syrian Civil War, it is currently controlled by the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria.

Name and geography

The town's name might be derived from "Shadadu"; a governor of the district of "Suru" mentioned in the annals of the Assyria king Assurnasirpal II. The town is situated off the western bank of the Khabur River. Nearby localities include al-Sabaa wa Arbain to the west.

Syrian Civil War

In the course of the Syrian Civil War, the city was attacked by the al-Nusra Front in the February 2013 Battle of Shaddadi and was captured three days later. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, over 100 Syrian Arab Army soldiers and 40 al-Nusra fighters were killed, as well as dozens of petroleum workers.
The city was later taken by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and remained one of the last ISIL strongholds in the province.
When in October 2015, the Kurdish-majority YPG and their multiethnic partners, including the al-Sanadid Forces of the Arab Shammar tribe, joined forces to form the Syrian Democratic Forces, al-Sanadid leader Bandar al-Humaydi made it an "immediate priority to liberate al-Hawl and al-Shaddadah from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.”
On 24 November, it became known that Islamic State militants were transferring their family members further south to the Deir ez-Zor Governorate. After the SDF captured the South Hasakah Dam on 30 November, they continued their offensive southward, towards the city of al-Shaddadah, now ISIL's last stronghold in al-Hasakah province. Subsequently, Arab tribal leaders reportedly urged ISIL to withdraw from the city "peacefully," in order to prevent civilian casualties and the possible collapse of al-Shaddadi's economic infrastructure, if a destructive battle between the SDF/coalition forces and the Islamic State were to occur. It was also reported that ISIL was beginning to evacuate some of its positions near al-Shaddadi.
On 19 February 2016, the town was captured by the Syrian Democratic Forces.
On 21 January 2019, US and SDF forces were attacked by a VBIED. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack through an affiliated news service.