The air base became a major target of the armed
opposition in the
Syrian Civil War's
Battle of Aleppo. The air base was under
siege by opposition forces from August 2012 until it fell to the rebels and Islamists (including
ISIL, the
Northern Storm Brigade and
Tawhid Brigades) on 6 August 2013. It subsequently fell under control of the
Al Nusra Front. On 10 February 2016, the
Syrian Democratic Forces from nearby
Afrin captured the airbase, aided by Russian airstrikes. After the
Kurdish YPG captured the Menagh Air Base, the organization renamed it "Serok Apo Air Base", meaning "Leader Apo", in reference to
Abdullah Öcalan, the imprisoned leader of the
PKK. On 1 December 2024, the
Syrian Interim Government-led
opposition armed groups under the
Dawn of Freedom Operations Room announced that they had taken control of the air base. ==See also==