Early developments In the course of the
Syrian civil war, the town was attacked by
jihadist rebel forces of the
al-Nusra Front in the
Battle of Shaddadi (2013) and was captured three days later. According to the
Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), over 100 pro-
Assad fighters and 40 al-Nusra fighters were killed, as well as dozens of petroleum workers, as a result of the battle.
Capture and control by the Islamic State The town was later attacked and captured by the
Islamic State (ISIS) in July 2013. Al-Shaddadah remained one of the last ISIS strongholds in the province over the next years. The town gained notoriety for its use as a
slave market where
Yazidi girls
captured in the Sinjar region in August 2014 were sold as
sex slaves.
The New York Times also reported an incident in al-Shaddadah in which a
Saudi ISIS fighter raped a 12-year-old Yazidi girl.
Capture and control by Kurdish-led forces members graduating at a training base near al-Shaddadah, 3 April 2023. On 11 October 2015, one day after the
Kurdish-majority
People’s Protection Units (YPG) and allied groups, including the
al-Sanadid Forces of the Arab
Shammar tribe, formed the U.S.-backed
Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), al-Sanadid leader Bandar al-Humaydi made it an "immediate priority to liberate
al-Hawl and al-Shaddadah from the Islamic State” for the newly formed coalition. On 24 November 2015, it became known that ISIS 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 ISIS' last stronghold in al-Hasakah province. Subsequently, Arab tribal leaders reportedly urged ISIS 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. After SDF forces took control of the town, Yazidi spiritual leader
Eidou Baba Sheikh stated, “The Yazidis are happy when they [SDF] liberated the town.” The U.S. military base has been targeted with
vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices (VBIEDs) and rocket attacks by ISIS and various
Iranian-backed militias, including the
Islamic Resistance in Iraq, notably during
attacks on U.S. bases amid the Gaza conflict. == Economy ==