Northwestern Syria offensive (October–November 2015)

Northwestern Syria offensive (October–November 2015)
	Part of the Syrian Civil War
	; The military situation in Hama Governorate; ; Wider strategic view, including the Aleppo offensive.; Syrian Army control Syrian Opposition control SDF control Islamic State control Ongoing confrontation or unclear situation
Date	7 October – 10 November 2015; (1 month and 3 days)
Location	Hama and Idlib Governorates, Syria
Result	Inconclusive
Territorial; changes	The Syrian Army captures Al-Bahsa, Fawru, Sirmaniyah, Safsafah and most of Jeb al-Ahmar; The Syrian Army recaptures al-Bani, Mughayr and Tal Al-Sakhr hill; Rebels capture al-Dil, Hamidid gas station, al-Janabra hill, Morek, al-Tawil hill, Mantana and Tell Swan hill; Rebels recapture Kafr Nabuda, Mansura, Lahaya, Maarkaba, Sukayk, Tell Uthman hill, Tell Sukayk hill, Atshan and Om Hartein;
Belligerents
Syrian Arab Republic; Iran; Russia; Allied groups:; SSNP; Syrian Resistance; Hezbollah	Army of Conquest Al-Nusra Front; Ahrar ash-Sham; Sham Legion; Jaysh al-Sunna; Liwa al-Haqq; Ajnad ash-Sham; Islamic Front; Alwiya al-Furqan; Army of Mujahedeen; Jund al-Aqsa; Junud al-Sham; Jabhat Ansar al-Din; Turkistan Islamic Party in Syria; Katibat al-Tawhid wal-Jihad (Uzbeks); Ajnad al-Kavkaz; SRCC Free Syrian Army; Fursan al-Haq Brigade; Supported by:; Turkey; Saudi Arabia; Qatar
Commanders and leaders
Maj. Gen. Qasem Suleimani; Col. Hamid Mokhtar Band †; Col. Farshad Hasounizade †; Lt. Gen. Ali Abdullah Ayyoub; Brig Gen. Taleb Salamah †; Col. Wasim Khaddam; Reza Khavari †; (Fatemiyoun Brigade commander); Hassan Hussein al-Haj †; (Hezbollah senior leader); Mahdi Hassan Obeid †; (Hezbollah commander) Viktor Bondarev; (chief of staff Russian Air Force)	As'ad Al-Aryan † (Ahrar al-Sham Emir); Bassam al-Qabalan †(Ahrar al-Sham Mufti); Hassan al-Mrei † (Ahrar al-Sham field commander); Assad al Eriyan †(Ahrar al-Sham field commander); Abu Bakr Hazano †(Al-nursa field commander); Emir Abu Al-Qa'qa †(Jund al-Aqsa commander); Adnan al-Khaled †(Jund al-Aqsa commander); Ahmad Khaled Abd al-Jalil † (Jund al-Aqsa commander); Abu al-Bara'a al-Demaqi † (Jund al-Aqsa commander); Brig. General Rashid Bakdash †; (FSA officer); Maj. Mohamed Mansour; (Jaysh al-Nasr leader); Col. Fares al-Bayous; (Fursan al-Haq leader); Lt. Col. Ahmed al-Seoud; (13th Division leader); Al Shiekh Muhammed Shabeeb †(FSA Field Commander)
Units involved
Syrian Armed Forces Syrian Army: 10th Tank Division's 87th Brigade; 7th Division; 9th Division; 4th Assault Corps; 47th Tank Brigade; Republican Guard's 106th Brigade; ; Local National Defence Forces militias; Russian Ground Forces 74th Guards Motor Rifle Brigade; 291st Artillery Brigade; Russian Air Force; Iranian and affiliated forces IRGC; Liwa Fatemiyoun;	Free Syrian Army: Jaysh al-Nasr; 1st Coastal Division; 13th Division; 101st Division; Ahrar ash-Sham; Jaysh al-Islam Al-Nusra Front
Strength
7,000+	Unknown
Casualties and losses
119+ killed 11 tanks destroyed; 2 tanks damaged; 2 tanks captured; 1 APC destroyed; 1 APC captured; 2 vehicles captured; 1 helicopter destroyed; 1 MiG-21 destroyed; ; 57 armoured vehicles destroyed (Rebel claim)	81+ killed
	12+ civilians killed

On the 7 October 2015, shortly after the start of the Russian air campaign in Syria, the Syrian government forces and its allies launched a ground offensive against anti-government positions in northwestern Syria, initially in northern Hama Governorate. The primary objective is to seal off the northern Hama border with Idlib and "build a buffer-zone around the city of Khan Sheikhoun". It has been described as the first major Syrian-Russian coordinated attack since the start of the Syrian Civil War. The offensive was extended in the subsequent days to the al-Ghab plains, between northwest Hama and southwest Idlib, as well as to the edge of the Latakia governorate.