Just where is al Bab and why should we care? Three regional factions, including NATO ally Turkey, the Kurds and ISIS fight over a city that could determine their future.

Al Bab, Syria – A city of just over 100,000 people, al Bab, Syria, has been a stronghold and hub for Islamic State fighters before they engage the frontlines of Mosul in Iraq, and al Raqqa in Syria, among others. Just 20 miles inside Syria from the Turkish border, it has also been used as a staging ground to disrupt the operations of Turkish supported rebels in the region.

In al Bab, three regional factions fight for their future. Turkey fights for its national identity, and to secure the border from an enemy as old as the Turkish state itself. The Kurds fight to create their own state and to protect their cultural heritage. ISIS fights to cling on to a last port of safety outside of the embattled inner Syrian sanctuaries.

Turkey has been targeting the frontier town since late August, warning that it was theirs to take, despite NATO coalition efforts to coordinate all operations. As a result, this week, when Turkey unilaterally led an offensive with Free Syrian Army militia to take al Bab, it was met with strong disapproval from its NATO allies.

They tell us not to go to al-Bab, but we are obliged to go down there. – Turkish President Erdogan

NATO reaction to the Turkish-led offensive was swift.

The Pentagon announced Wednesday that it is by no means backing the Turkish offensive. U.S. Colonel John Dorrian, a Pentagon spokesperson for the anti-ISIS coalition stationed in Baghdad, called it “unhelpful,” and derided the offensive for having been launched independently without coalition support. The US further withdrew certain Army Special Forces personnel that had deployed with Turkish forces and their allied militia groups, to ensure there is no perception of provisional support for the offensive. “They are not part of the advance in al Bab,” said Col. Dorrian. In a seeming attempt to offer an olive branch, Col. Dorrian added, “What we would like to do is to continue to work with (the Turks) to develop a plan where everyone remains focused.”

The withdrawal of supporting personnel, with stern official condemnation, illustrates the strained ties between Turkey and its NATO allies on how best to approach and defeat IS in the region, particularly in Northern Syria.

The town of al Bab is not just a hub from where ISIS affiliated groups can operate to disrupt logistical lines and distribute new fighters to the frontlines, it also links the northern parts of the Aleppo Governorate to the provinces of Raqqa and Deir Ezzor. This renders al Bab a strategically vital control point for Turkey. Yet this also goes for the Kurds (supported by Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), with Arab militia groups), and ISIS. To connect the Kurdish-controlled western territory of Afrin to the Rojava, the SDF needs to control the town. In turn, Turkey needs to capture al Bab to prevent the Kurds from uniting the immediate territories under their control and establishing an autonomous administration along the Turkish border.

ISIS on the other hand deems al Bab as one of their last grand strongholds where they can regroup near a perforated border. For ISIS, losing al Bab would push them entirely out of the province, leaving them in a weakened state, and with only the provinces of Raqqa and Deir Ezzor deep inside Syria.

On August 24, Turkey had deployed special forces units into al Bab to attack pre-designated targets. Officially, it was described by Turkish authorities as a counter terrorism operation against the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), which Turkey considers a terrorist organization. YPG is a vital part of the Kurdish oriented SDF, which quickly became the go-to-ally of the US in Syria in the battle against ISIS. Turkish officials have publically stated the belief that SDF is only a proxy for the YPG.

Yet, despite the Turkish position, the August 24th operation appears unlikely to have targeted the YPG. The YPG at the time held very little ground in al Bab, and the areas hit were primarily those held by ISIS affiliated groups. The YPG has also been part of the massive offensive against IS in al Raqqa, and the operation to liberate Mosul, and is currently advancing towards al Bab from a different direction than the Turkish offensive.

Problematic, is that the Turkish supported FSA militia and the SDF have been pushing towards al Bab, leading towards an inevitable clash in the greater al Bab area. Should FSA forces manage to take and secure the city before the SDF, it could prevent the Kurdish regions in the immediate area from unifying, splitting them down the middle.

Both the FSA and SDF have suffered heavy losses in their independent campaigns. Just yesterday, Abu Ismail, chief commander of the Turkish supported Arab Sultan Murad Division, was killed during an early dawn ISIS counter offensive. Reportedly, ISIS militants broke the Division’s defensive line, and in the ensuing close quarter combat, 18 people were killed.

UPDATE: NOV22

Follow Lima Charlie News for the latest developments in al Bab and the ongoing ISIS offensives.

John Sjoholm, Middle East Bureau Chief, Lima Charlie News

John Sjoholm is Lima Charlie’s Middle East Bureau Chief, and the founder of the consulting organization Erudite Group. He is a seasoned Middle East connoisseur, with a past in the Swedish Army’s Special Forces branch and the Security Contracting industry. He studied religion and languages in Sana’a, Yemen, and Cairo, Egypt. He lived and operated extensively in the Middle East between 2005-2012 as part of regional stabilizing projects, and currently resides in Jordan. Follow John on Twitter: @JohnSjoholmLC

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