Capture of symbolically important town by rebels backed by U.S. and Turkey comes after two-week offensive

Syria, Wall Street Journal, Oct. 16, 2016 – Syrian rebels backed by the U.S. and Turkey said Sunday they had seized control of the symbolically important town of Dabiq from Islamic State as part of a broader offensive against the extremist group in northern Syria.

Dabiq fight 

A coalition of rebel factions has advanced rapidly against Islamic State and captured territory in northern Syria since a Turkish-backed offensive began in August. That operation was launched to cut off supply lines to the group’s de facto capital in Syria, Raqqa, and drive ISIS from a 60-mile stretch of territory along the border,

Dabiq, about 6 miles from the Turkish border, has played an outsize role in Islamic State’s propaganda since it was seized by the group in 2014. Sayings attributed to the Prophet Muhammad identify the town as the site of an apocalyptic future battle where a Muslim army will defeat a Western army. The group named its English-language magazine Dabiq.
The Pentagon welcomed the news that Dabiq had fallen, given its ideological symbolism for Islamic State.

“This is more than just the latest military result against this barbaric group,” Defense Secretary Ash Carter said in a written statement. Not only did Dabiq hold symbolic importance to the militant group, he said.

 Syrian rebels seize village where Islamic State promised final battle

“The group carried out unspeakable atrocities in Dabiq, named its English-language magazine after the town and claimed it would be the site of a final victory for the so-called caliphate.” Instead, he said, the defeat of Islamic State there brings “new momentum” in Syria.
Rebel groups had been girding for a long and difficult battle for Dabiq. They launched an offensive to retake the town and the surrounding area two weeks ago, then began an attack on Dabiq on Saturday—one day before they declared victory.

“It’s symbolic to Islamic State,” said Abdulsalaam Abdulrazaq, a spokesman for Nour al-Deen al-Zinke, one of the Syrian rebel groups participating in the battle. “And many of its fighters joined ISIS for the sake of the Dabiq battle because they believe they are the righteous ones and that they will be victorious.”

 Map showing territory under Isis control

The offensive began with airstrikes and artillery attacks from the Turkish military, which is part of the U.S.-led coalition battling Islamic State in Syria and Iraq. That was followed by a ground assault by rebels from numerous directions, rebel commanders said. Islamic State militants sent snipers and suicide bombers to attack the advancing rebels—killing several—before withdrawing.

By Sunday afternoon, rebels were combing the area looking for explosives planted by Islamic State, a common practice by the extremist group before it withdraws from territory, said Mohammad Nour, a spokesman for the Sultan Murad rebel faction.

Islamic State militants left Dabiq without putting up much of a fight, Turkish military officials said. Four settlements near the town remain under Islamic State control.

 Turkish-backed Syrian opposition forces patrol in Dabiq, Syria.

The loss was just the latest to plague Islamic State militants after a series of significant setbacks in Syria and Iraq at the hands of various forces, rebel commanders said. A coalition of forces in neighboring Iraq is preparing for a battle to take the city of Mosul from Islamic State, the group’s only remaining stronghold in that country.

The offensive across northern Syria has further complicated what was already a multifaceted conflict.

As Turkish-backed Syrian rebels continue to expand their hold over territory previously held by Islamic State, authorities are also cracking down on the organization’s network in Turkey. On Sunday, police raided an Islamic State cell in the southern Gaziantep province, where a militant detonated explosives, killing three policemen and wounding eight people, including four Syrian nationals.

 Turkish-backed Syrian opposition forces allow a man to pass after being searched in Dabiq

Operations to oust Islamic State from Mosul will start when Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi sees fit, the U.S.’s top official in the fight against the extremist group, Brett McGurk, said Saturday. The Pentagon said U.S. and coalition forces carried out six strikes near Mosul on Friday.