page_title: Northwestern Syria offensive (April–June 2015)
section_title: Rebel capture of Jisr al-Shughur
hierarchical_section_title: Northwestern Syria offensive (April–June 2015) / The offensive / Rebel capture of Jisr al-Shughur
caption_attribution_description: Français&#160;: Djihadistes du Front al-Nosra pendant la bataille de Jisr al-Choghour (avril-mai 2015)
context_page_description: The Northwestern Syria offensive (April–June 2015), dubbed by the rebels as the Battle of Victory, took place in the Idlib and Hama governorates during the Syrian Civil War.
  The campaign consisted of a three-pronged attack, with the two main assaults spearheaded by Ahrar ash-Sham, al-Qaeda-affiliated Jabhat al-Nusra and other Islamist factions under the banner of the Army of Conquest, and the remaining attack force including collaboration with Free Syrian Army brigades. The commander of the FSA 13th Division stated that coordinating with other groups such as al-Nusra Front did not mean they were aligned with them. Within days, the rebels captured the city of Jisr al-Shughur and later on an Army base. The success of the campaign was attributed to better coordination between the Syrian opposition's backers. Still, the operation resulted in a high attrition rate for both sides.
context_section_description: On 22 April, rebels (organised by the newly created Battle of Victory operations room) launched an offensive against the de facto provincial capital of Idlib governorate, Jisr al-Shughur, threatening to cut off government access to a major highway linking Idlib to Latakia. Other objectives in this offensive were the Brick Factory base (Al-Qarmeed), near Mastouma, and the Al-Ghaab Plain in Hama governorate, where FSA units were tasked with spearheading the cutting of Syrian Arab Army supply lines from the west. An al-Nusra Front suicide bomber detonated a VBIED near the Brick Factory, marking the beginning of the operation. A BMP packed with explosives was also detonated at a checkpoint in the north of Jisr al-Shughur. At the end of 23 April, despite contradictory statements, Jisr al-Shughur was still under control by government troops. Al-Nusra claimed to had sent 15 suicide bombers into the city as part of the assault. Meanwhile, in the Al-Ghaab Plain, a rebel attack on the village of Sirmaniyah was repelled. A car-bomb was detonated in the Sirmaniyah area as well.
  By the next day, rebels had captured one checkpoint near the Mastouma base and four checkpoints around Jisr al-Shughur, but clashes still continued at a distance of 2–4 km near of the city. The rebels reportedly also advanced near the city's sugar plant and captured a hill near the Brick Factory base. However, the Syrian Army claimed that it "secured the city" at the cost of 13 soldiers and denied that rebels advanced near the sugar plant. Later that day, rebels captured the strategic Tal Hekmah checkpoint near the road between Jisr al-Shughur and Ariha. Meanwhile, the Syrian Air Force conducted at least 40 airstrikes in Idlib. Later, an opposition source reported that the rebels controlled the three highest points near the town of Furayqah (Tal Muntar, Tal Hamkah and Tal Mantaf), but the road between Jisr al-Shughur and Ariha was still not cut. However, government reinforcements arrived and recaptured the Tal Hekmah checkpoint.
  According to the SOHR, since the start of the offensive, 43 rebels, including 13 Chechens, had been killed, government casualties numbered 30 Meanwhile, pro-government sources placed the rebel death toll at 100, with 47 soldiers dying as well. Throughout the first few days of the offensive, FSA brigades such as Fursan al-Haq and the 1st Coastal Division (including notable gunner Osama Abo Hamza) used anti-tank TOW missiles against a number of SAA armored vehicles in the al-Ghaab Plain.
  Early on 25 April, rebels captured the sugar plant and later, a VBIED was detonated at the Ayn Sibeel checkpoint before an al-Nusra Front-led rebel force captured most of the city, with fighting continuing and air-strikes hitting rebel positions. The national hospital and one checkpoint specifically remained under government control at this point, as clashes continued in the southwestern part of the city. Meanwhile, the Syrian Army claimed that it had captured the village of Kurin. Soon after, rebels fully secured Jisr al-Shughur, except for the hospital where soldiers were still holed up. Clashes also still continued in the vicinity of the city from the south and east. 60 bodies of government fighters were reportedly seen on the streets. During the SAA's retreat, Syrian  Army intelligence executed 23 prisoners at the hospital before withdrawing. The Syrian Air Force launched 30 airstrikes around the city after its fall.
  After the seizure of Jisr al-Shughur, rebels captured five villages in the Al-Ghaab Plain and seized the village of Eshtabraq near Jisr al-Shughur, while 27 people, including 20 rebels were killed by airstrikes on the captured city.
  The next day, Syrian troops reportedly recaptured the sugar plant and were fighting at the entrance to the city, with one report putting the clashes at around 5 kilometers south of Jisr al-Shughur. Military sources also reported the SAA recapturing a village in the Al-Ghaab Plain and opening a corridor from the sugar plant to the soldiers besieged at the hospital in Jisr al-Shughur.
  On 27 April, rebels captu
caption: Al-Nusra Front fighters in Jisr al-Shughur
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