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44-703: The al-Tawhid Brigade participated in the Battle of Aleppo in late 2012 which led to the capture of the Aleppo Infantry School and the field commander, Colonel Yusuf al-Jader ( nom de guerre Abu Furat al-Jarabulusi), was killed in action during the battle in December 2012. In early 2013, the Union of Battalions of Martyr Colonel Abu Furat was formed in Jarabulus. In June 2013, clashes erupted in

88-625: A Ramsar salt lake located 40 kilometres (25 mi) southeast of Aleppo. Lake Assad (the largest lake in Syria) separates Aleppo Governorate from Raqqa Governorate. Other artificial lakes include the Lake of 17 April on the River Ifrīn and the revived Shabā Lake on River Quwēq. Archaeological sites are abundant in the governorate, especially at Mount Simeon in the west and the plains that extend beyond towards Antioch and Idlib . This region, known as

132-542: A newly created district since 2008, formerly belonging to Mount Simeon District - a newly created district since 2009, formerly belonging to Al-Bab District. Aleppo Governorate has a semi-arid climate. The mountain series that runs along the Mediterranean coast, namely Mount Alawites and Mount Amanus, largely block the effects of the Mediterranean on climate (rain shadow effect). The average temperature in

176-660: A sharp reduction in military assistance from Gulf states, due to US pressure to support more moderate rebel groups. On 10 September 2014, the Tawhid Brigade's eastern branch became a founding member group of the Euphrates Volcano operations room based in Kobanî . By October 2014, al-Tawhid had seen many of its eastern Aleppo province affiliates becoming defunct but re-emerging as break-off groups, and its northern branch Free North Brigade being "superseded" by

220-814: A united strength of 13,000 fighters across all of Syria. In November 2013, the Elite Islamic Battalion left the Tawhid Brigade. On 2 March 2014, the Northern Storm Brigade announced that they would join the Islamic Front under the leadership of the al-Tawhid Brigade. Also in 2014, the Euphrates Jarabulus Battalions left to join the Dawn of Freedom Brigades . The al-Tawhid Brigade reportedly enjoyed "strong Qatari backing." The al-Tawhid Brigade

264-549: Is located in the northern part of Mount Kurd. River 'Ifrīn runs from north to south between Mount Simeon and Mount Kurd and then turns west to the Orontes valley, thus separating Mount Kurd from Mount Ḥārim to the south. The governorate is generally deforested except for a dispersed forest of about 50 square kilometres (19 sq mi) on the eastern slope of Mount Kurd where it faces the plain of A'zaz . The main trees are Aleppo pine and oak . Arable land makes up 66% of

308-459: Is one of the fourteen governorates of Syria . It is the most populous governorate in Syria with a population of more than 4,867,000 (2011 Est.), almost 23% of the total population of Syria. The governorate is the fifth in area with an area of 18,482 km (7,136 sq mi), or 18,498 km , about 10% of the total area of Syria. The capital is the city of Aleppo . In Classical antiquity ,

352-885: The Free Syrian Army launched the Operation Euphrates Shield in order to drive ISIL from the border towns of Jarablus , A'zaz and Al-Bab . The operation resulted in success and starting in May 2017, the region is now under Turkish occupation . The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant was largely removed from the area after the Syrian Arab Army launched the East Aleppo Offensive , the Maskanah Plains offensive , and

396-601: The Jazīrah plateau. The southeastern end of the governorate is continuous with the arid steppe of the northern Syrian Desert . To the south lie the eastern plains of Hama, and to the southwest lie the northern plains of Idlib. The average elevation of the terrain is 379 metres (1,243 ft). The surface gradually slopes down in north–south and west–east directions, undulating gently with an amplitude of 10–30 m for each wave. The lowlands are covered with combined Paleozoic and Mesozoic sediments that average 4–5 km in thickness over

440-639: The Limestone Massif , has the largest concentration of Late Antiquity churches in the world, with a unique Syrian architectural style. It also has the famous Dead Cities of Syria. The following cities are the administrative centres of the districts in Aleppo Governorate (Population based on 2004 official census): The governorate is divided into ten districts ( manatiq ) as of 2011. The districts are further divided into 46 sub-districts ( nawahi ): - includes Aleppo City -

484-841: The Mountain Knights Brigade , the Darat Izza Brigade , the Free North Brigade , and the Aleppo Shahba Battalions . The Mountain Knights Brigade operated in the southwest of Aleppo Governorate near the border with the Idlib Governorate and the city of Atarib . The Darat Izza Brigade was named after the town of Darat Izza and operated in the western part of the city of Aleppo . The Free North Brigade

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528-851: The Northern Sun Battalion (Shams al-Shamal) . Other rebel forces continued to use the name Free North Brigade and eventually joined the Sham Legion . Some remnants of the Tawhid Brigade near Azaz allied itself with the YPG and received equipment and training from the CIA in late 2014. Most ex-fighters of the al-Tawhid Brigade became a core part of the Levant Front . However, in October 2016, 4 "battalions" of rebels in Aleppo using

572-864: The Southern Raqqa Offensive . In January 2018, the Turkish army backed by the Free Syrian Army launched the Turkish military operation in Afrin against the YPG , which resulted in the capture of the city of Afrin and the entire Afrin District . The governorate has a 221-kilometre (137 mi) long northern boundary with the Kilis , Gaziantep , and Şanlıurfa provinces of Turkey . To

616-540: The Syrian Civil War , many Aleppo based commerce have now relocated across the border into Turkey, especially Gaziantep . Economic conditions have deteriorated in the Aleppo region and have caused prices of goods to rise. The 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine and reductions in the Euphrates' river water levels are expected to cause a major impact on water and electricity access as well as food security within

660-628: The Vilayet of Aleppo . During the Tanzimat era of Ottoman governance in Aleppo, the authorities established the 1858 land reform law along with schemes to introduce new Bedouin settlers to northern Syria. These programs led to a stronger integration of Aleppo with the economy of the Ottoman heartland in Anatolia . It also paved the way for European capitalists to exploit agricultural resources of

704-471: The "oneness of God," was an armed Islamist insurgent group involved in the Syrian Civil War . The al-Tawhid Brigade was formed in 2012. Reportedly backed by Qatar , al-Tawhid was considered one of the biggest groups in northern Syria, dominating most of the insurgency around Aleppo. Its leader Abdul Qader Saleh was killed in November 2013 in a Syrian Air Force airstrike. The al-Tawhid Brigade

748-463: The Turkish side of the border, the flow of these rivers dropped so much that most of them could no longer support agriculture. The Quwēq, for example, dried up completely in the 1950s. The vanishing of the rivers forced farmers to depend largely on rainfall and on water diverted from the Euphrates. A pumping station at Maskanah (95 km east of Aleppo) provides drinking water for Aleppo from the Euphrates. Recently Euphrates water has been diverted to revive

792-605: The Union of Euphrates Jarabulus Battalions joined Euphrates Volcano . The Jarabulus Brigade initially participated in the defence of the Siege of Kobane but later left the city. In November 2015, the group joined the Syrian Democratic Forces . In late 2016, just after the Manbij offensive which captured the city of Manbij from ISIL and before the Operation Euphrates Shield , the commander of Furat Jarabulus and

836-731: The YPG and the EILF. Clashes continued through May 2014. On 22 September 2013, the Tawhid Brigade joined the Islamic Front coalition. The group was formed largely from the Syrian Islamic Front and the Syrian Islamic Liberation Front , both of which were officially dissolved in the process. On 24 September 2013, the Tawhid Brigade co-signed a statement with 11 other rebel groups which called for Sharia law and, allying with al-Qaeda , rejected

880-869: The YPG in the Kobane Canton . Some members regrouped into the Jarabulus Brigade , a small independent faction. After a battle between al-Tawhid Brigade and ISIL in Jarabulus, 6 members of the Jader family, among dozens of dissenters, were beheaded by ISIL in January 2014. In February 2014, the Martyr Abu Furat Battalions as part of the Euphrates Islamic Liberation Front captured several villages near Manbij and Jarabulus from ISIL. In late 2014,

924-630: The authority of the Syrian National Coalition . On 14 November 2013, a Syrian Air Force airstrike bombarded an army base held by the al-Tawhid brigade in Aleppo killing a commander by the name of Youssef al-Abbas also injuring two others including al-Tawhid's head commander Abdul Qader Saleh . Saleh subsequently died of his wounds in a Turkish hospital. Following the death of Saleh, the Tawhid Brigade reportedly suffered serious internal divisions and lost considerable members in defections to other rebel factions. They also experienced

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968-430: The capture of Aleppo's Army College. In January 2013, the Tawhid Brigade announced on its website that it had become a member of the Syrian Islamic Liberation Front . In the next month, the al-Tawhid Brigade, Ahrar al-Sham, and the al-Nusra Front launched an offensive which ended in the conquest of the Aleppo suburb of Sheikh Saeed. In May 2013, the hell cannon , a mortar-like improvised firearm designed and built by

1012-555: The coalition. The brigade's leadership called for "a civil state where the basis of legislation is the Islamic faith, with consideration for all the [minority] groups of Syria". They thereby implicitly rejected an earlier statement they had made, with other local factions, which had called for an Islamic state in Syria and denouncing the Syrian National Coalition. In December 2012, the al-Tawhid Brigade spearheaded

1056-527: The dead Qwēq river, and thus revive agriculture in the plains south of Aleppo. Urban areas, highlands, swamps, forests, and grazing land make up 34% of the total area of the governorate. The remaining 14% is a desert area in the southeast that is continuous with the Syrian Desert and known as the Aleppo Desert (Arabic: بادية حلب). The largest lake in the governorate is lake Sabkhat al-Jabbul ,

1100-527: The east lies Raqqa Governorate , to the south Ḥamā Governorate , and to the west Idlib Governorate and Turkey's Hatay Province . The governorate lies on a plateau known as the Aleppo plateau . The eastern and northern boundaries of the governorate correspond roughly to the eastern and northern boundaries of the plateau, although the northeastern portion of the governorate crosses the Euphrates valley into

1144-586: The flag of the al-Tawhid Brigade left the Levant Front and joined the Nour al-Din al-Zenki Movement . In 2022, some al-Tawhid Brigade remnants left the Levant Front (then part of the Syrian National Army ) and created a new group called "Ahrar al-Tawhid". Aleppo Governorate Aleppo Governorate ( Arabic : محافظة حلب / ALA-LC : Muḥāfaẓat Ḥalab / [muˈħaːfaðˤat ˈħalab] )

1188-543: The governorate is 15–20 °C (59–68 °F). The average precipitation ranges from 500 mm (20 in) in the western parts of the governorate to 200 mm (8 in) in the easternmost parts and 150 mm (6 in) in the southeastern desert. 80% of precipitation occurs between October and March. Snow is usually in winter. The average humidity is 60% in the west and 55% in the east. Hong Kong Observatory (sun 1961–1990) Agricultural output from Aleppo mainly focuses on cereal and cotton production. However, since

1232-513: The insurgent group Free North Brigade, was first noted in the press. In June 2013, the al-Tawhid Brigade sent over 300 fighters under the command of Saleh and the Aleppo Military Council's Obaidi to the Battle of al-Qusayr . In August 2013, the al-Tawhid Brigade alongside various Islamist rebel groups captured the town of Khanasir , severing the supply routes of the remaining Syrian government loyalists north of Aleppo. In

1276-547: The militia was reorganised into nearly 30 sub-factions. By June, the rebel group had 38 "regiments" and about 11,000 fighters as well as 10,000 "administrators". In September 2013, the Supreme Military Council 's head Salim Idris brokered a merger between the Conquest Brigade and the al-Tawhid Brigade, with the two units holding a ceremony to facilitate their unification. They claimed to have

1320-584: The newly-formed Jarabulus Military Council, Abdul Sattar al-Jader was assassinated by sniper fire from unknown assailants. Ahmed al-Jader replaced his post as commander amid heavy clashes between the JMC and rival Syrian rebels and the Turkish Armed Forces . Al-Tawhid Brigade The al-Tawhid Brigade ( Arabic : لواء التوحيد , romanized :  Liwa al-Tawhid , lit.   'Brigade of monotheism'), named after Tawhid ,

1364-410: The rebel group and Brotherhood figures. However, other sources argued that the al-Tawhid Brigade simply accepted support from anyone who was somewhat ideologically similar to itself, including Salafists . In late 2013, the rebel group co-signed a joint statement calling for Sharia law and rejecting the authority of the Syrian National Coalition . Originally, al-Tawhid was composed of four subunits,

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1408-501: The region and caused internal trade to shift into the hands of European merchants. In the early 20th century, during the French Mandate the region was part of the short-lived State of Aleppo . Aleppo Governorate formerly included Idlib Governorate , until the latter was split off circa 1960. The governorate has been the scene of some of the fiercest fighting in the Syrian Civil War . In June 2017, nearly six years after

1452-482: The region was made up of three regions: Chalybonitis (with its centre at Chalybon or Aleppo), Chalcidice (with its center at Qinnasrin العيس), and Cyrrhestica (with its center at Cyrrhus النبي حوري). This was the most fertile and populated region in Syria. Under the Romans, the region was made in 193 CE part of the province of Coele-Syria or Magna Syria, which was ruled from Antioch . The province of Euphratensis

1496-592: The same month, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the al-Nusra Front , Ahrar al-Sham , the Suqour al-Sham Brigade , and the al-Tawhid Brigade announced that they would besiege the YPG -held city of Kobanî . However, infighting between the groups erupted in January 2014 and some of them began to align with the YPG under the name of the Euphrates Islamic Liberation Front . In March 2014, ISIL captured Sarrin and several other towns and villages from

1540-510: The total area in the governorate. The main crops are olives, figs, plums, pomegranates, vegetables, grains, rice, and pistachios. Pistachio is called in Syria fustuq Ḥalabī (Aleppo pistachio). Rivers traditionally supported agriculture; the main rivers in Aleppo are the Quwēq, 'Ifrīn, Sājūr , Dhahab, Aswad , and Euphrates. However, all of these rivers arise in Turkey, and due to irrigation projects on

1584-618: The town between the group and the al-Nusra Front and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant , which resulted in ISIL taking full control of Jarabulus. After the capture of Jarabulus by ISIL, the Euphrates Jarabulus Battalions moved its headquarters to the town of Zur Maghar, which is controlled by the YPG . The group attempted to reenter Jarabulus with other FSA factions but they were repelled by ISIL which killed dozens of their fighters. It then formed an alliance with

1628-470: The valley of River Quwēq . The endpoint of Quwēq, the Maṭkh swamp (249 metres (817 ft)), is the lowest point in Aleppo Governorate. West of the Quwēq is Mount Simeon . South of Mount Simeon is the plains of Idlib. The river 'Afrīn runs west of Mount Simeon. To the west of river 'Afrīn, the land rises again forming Mount Kurd . The highest point in the governorate, Mount Bulbul (1,269 metres (4,163 ft)),

1672-586: The war's start, the province was almost equally divided between Syrian Government forces, Syrian Opposition forces, Turkish Army / TFSA and the Rojava / Syrian Democratic Forces . After fierce fighting, the Syrian Arab Army with Russian air support managed to take control of the capital of the Governorate, Aleppo, in December 2016 from Fatah Halab coalition. In August 2016, the Turkish Army , backed by

1716-672: The whole surface. Starting from the valley of the Euphrates, the terrain rises forming the Manbij plain, and then sinks again at the Dhahab river valley in the east of Aleppo Governorate. The Dhahab drains the highlands north of Bāb and runs in a north–south direction for about 50 km (31 mi) until it drains into Lake Jabboul . West of the Dhahab valley the terrain rises again forming Mount 'Aqīl (Mount Taymar) west of Bāb and Mount Ḥaṣṣ west of Lake Jabboul. The terrain sinks again forming

1760-400: Was established in the 4th century CE in the east, its centre was Hierapolis Bambyce ( Manbij ). Under the Rashidun and Umayyad Muslim dynasties, the region was part of the Jund Qinnasrin . In the Abbasid period the region was under the independent rule of the Hamdanids . The Mamluks and then later the Ottomans governed the area until 1918; under the Ottomans, the region was part of

1804-399: Was formed in 2012 in order to coordinate the Battle of Aleppo , with the stated mission to found a "civil state in Syria with Islam being the main source of legislation." Researcher Charles R. Lister described the initial al-Tawhid Brigade as "a coalition of local Aleppo-based Islamist units", following an ideology similar to the one of the Muslim Brotherhood . The rebel group's foundation

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1848-400: Was initially founded by Islamist groups, and followed an ideology similar to the one of the Muslim Brotherhood . Agence France-Presse and Al-Monitor journalists described the unit as being affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood. According to As-Safir , the al-Tawhid Brigade even operated as "armed wing of the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood " due to close connections between leaders of

1892-462: Was possibly inspired or even ordered by one of the rebels' main allies, Turkey, to facilitate a greater cooperation among insurgent forces. From its inception, the brigade cooperated with hardline jihadist forces including the al-Nusra Front ; for instance, the group ruled Jarablus alongside the al-Nusra Front. In November 2012, the Tawhid Brigade announced their support for the Syrian National Coalition but called for greater representation in

1936-417: Was the largest subunit of the Tawhid Brigade and present in the Kilis Corridor. It took over the leadership of several subunits in al-Bab to the east of Aleppo. By March 2013, the al-Tawhid Brigade had become active in northeastern and eastern Syria as well, where one of its representatives, Sheikh Saif, tried to set up a loose coalition of Islamist groups known as the " Islamic Front ". Around June 2013,

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