Battle of Azaz ( 2012 ) The Battle of Azaz was a battle between the Syrian Army and the Free Syrian Army for control of the city of Azaz , north of Aleppo , during the Syrian civil war . The first Azaz offensive . By 6 March , the rebel Free Syrian Army had taken control of towns north of Aleppo and were attacking Azaz . Subsequent , defections from the Syrian Army , following a crackdown in the wider Aleppo region against anti - government activists , led to the town becoming a battleground between the Syrian Army and the Free Syrian Army , made up of defectors and armed civilians in late March 2012 . Three soldiers were killed by the FSA in fighting in March . On May 23 , the government launched an assault on Azaz . As their armored columns approached the city from the west supported by helicopters and artillery , they encountered stiff rebel resistance from the combined forces of Ahrar alShamal Brigade and the Muthanna ibn Haritha Battalion . Over the next three days , regime forces attempted to take rebel - held neighborhoods . By the evening of May 26 , rebels pushed the regime out of the city , destroying five armored vehicles in the process . The second Azaz offensive . At the beginning of July , the Assad regime began its second major offensive operation in northern Aleppo . Once again , the focus of this offensive was Azaz , which the regime began to shell on July 2 . A week later , the Syrian observatory for Human Rights reported heavy clashes in several of the city ' s neighborhoods . The struggle for Azaz continued until July 19 , when rebel groups finally re - established control of the city . The regime retreated to Minnakh Air Base , which remained operational . On 23 July , it was confirmed that the FSA had finally taken control of Azaz . They said that 17 government tanks had been destroyed and one captured , although a journalist in the area counted 7 destroyed tanks . There is no video evidence of the battle itself to explain the mechanism of the rebels ' success against regime armor in this battle . However , a number of factors may have contributed to their success . One account of the clashes indicated that rebels used rocket propelled grenades against the tanks . If this is the case , then rebels in Azaz have cultivated substantial antiarmor tactical proficiency . RPGs are not typically capable of penetrating the thick armor of main battle tanks . As would have had to utilize complex tactics , carefully employing their anti - armor assets to achieve mobility kills before striking against weak points in the tanks ' armor . The same account also points to the regime blunders in the employment of its tanks , explaining that the regime positioned its armored elements in a courtyard surrounding the mosque , pointing their guns outward towards the city in a defensive stance without infantry support aside from sniper over - watch from inside the mosque . Also critical to the rebels success was the quantity of ammunition they possessed . Thanks to Azaz ' s proximity to the Turkish border , rebels there could easily access weapons , ammunition , and reinforcements via the Kilis Border Crossing . The Tawhid Brigade claims to receive support from foreign states . A Tawhid Brigade spokesman in Azaz by the name of Abdulaziz Salama recently reported that the brigade received some 700 RPG rounds , 300 rifles , and 3 , 000 grenades in two shipments coordinated by the US and Turkey . Further developments . On December 16 Syrian government warplanes bombed the town . Most of the bombs hit the centre of Azaz , around three kilometres ( two miles ) from the Turkish border in an area dominated by Syrian rebels , but at least one landed 500 metres from Turkish soil , one official said . It also stirred panic at a Syrian refugee camp just inside Turkey . Hundreds of residents from Azaz were trying to cross the border . Azaz was again hit from the air on January 26 , 2013 . Pro - Al - Qaeda Azaz offensive . A pro - Al - Qaeda group took over the Syrian town of Azaz near the border with Turkey , Reuters reported . The group overran the town following clashes with the rebel Free Syrian Army on Wednesday . According to activists , the group called the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant attacked Aleppo ’ s Azaz killing and arresting FSA rebels . On September 20 The ISIS and The FSA agreed on a ceasefire .