When part of the Ottoman Empire, Abu Kamal was called kışla, pronounced locally as "qashla", which is a Turkish word for "military barracks". This name "Qashla" is still used by some inhabitants of the area, especially by elderly villagers.[citation needed] The name "Al-Bukamal" (Arabic: البوكمال) means "the family of Kamal", Kamal being the tribe that lives there, whereas the name "Abu Kamal" means "the father of Kamal".
History
In the 17th century, Abu Kamal was the seat of a sanjak of the Ottoman Empire in the Rakka Eyalet. It was a kaza (subdistrict) center within Zor Sanjak until the end of Ottoman rule in 1918.[3] In 1896, the old mud village was relocated a mile upstream because it was in danger of being ruined by flooding. The new village was built from stone and had wide streets.[4] The village and its subdistrict formed the center of the Arab Uqaydat tribe and was largely SunniMuslim, with the exception of a small Christian community originally from Deir ez-Zor and Mosul.[4] At the beginning of the 20th century, it contained eighty houses, the residence of the kaymakam (kaza governor), a police station, a ferry, and had a population of about 500. The kaza of Abu Kamal in 1890 had a population of 15,000.[4]
Abu Kamal became part of the French Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon in 1921, and the French made it the seat of a large garrison. In 1946 it became part of independent Syria. Abu Kamal's position at the border of Syria and Iraq has made it an important commercial as well as political center.
Abu Kamal is located near to Al-Qa'im, a crossing point for the Iraqi insurgency and the location of Operation Steel Curtain in November 2005. On 27 October 2008, during the Iraq War, four US helicopters carried out a raid on the village of Sukkariyeh in Abu Kamal district. It was the first known raid inside Syria by the US. News reports indicate that at least seven people were killed, four of them children.[5][6][7] The Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem stated that "Killing civilians in international law means a terrorist aggression."
[8]
Syrian Civil War
Abu Kamal, one of the districts (November 19, 2017)
During the Syrian Civil War, in late July 2012, the Free Syrian Army (FSA) took over the town, along with its associated border post with Iraq. In early September 2012, France 24 reported that the Hamdan military airport was under attack by FSA.[citation needed] On 16 November 2012, FSA took over the nearby Hamdan military airport, which was once used to transport farm produce, but was converted to a base for helicopters and military tanks. The capture of Hamdan meant that the Syrian Army forces now only held one air base in the province - the main military airport in Deir ez-Zor city.[9]
Abu Kamal was captured by ISIL forces between late-June and early-July 2014 during a three-month offensive across Deir ez-Zor Governorate.[10] On 3 July 2014, SOHR said that city of Mayadin, the second biggest town in Deir Ezzor province, was also "now under IS control, after Al-Nusra Front evacuated its headquarters there, and IS raised its banner". On 3 July 2014, all towns and villages on the route from Abu Kamal to Al-Bab, passing through the Raqqa province, were under Islamic State control.[11][12]
Owing to its distance from the frontline, the town would see little fighting between its capture by ISIL in 2014 and ISIL's retreat in 2017. During the lull in conflict, the town was the target of a failed opposition attack by the US-backed New Syrian Army in June 2016; the offensive lasted only a day and led to a total reversal of New Syrian Army advances to Abu Kamal.
Abu Kamal, destroyed buildings (November 19, 2017)
On October 14, 2017 the Syrian Arab Army took the city of Mayadin, located 80 kilometers from Abu Kamal. After that Abu Kamal was the only large city that remained under ISIL control.[13]
On October 25, the road Al Qaim – Abu Kamal – Mayadin – Deir ez-Zor was blocked after a series of airstrikes conducted by Russian Air Force.
From 1 to 4 November 6 Russian Tu-22M3 strategic bombers conducted airstrikes on ISIL objects near Abu Kamal. On November 7 the SAA started operation to take Abu Kamal with support of allied forces, like the Iranian-backed Hezbollah and the Iranian Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC).[citation needed]
On 9 November 2017, ISIL retreated from the town, leaving fighters dispersed in villages and small towns in the desert. Army spokesman Gen. Ali Mayhoub stated:[14]
″The liberation of Abu Kamal is of great importance because it is a declaration of the fall of this group’s project in the region generally and the collapse of its supporters’ illusions to divide it, control large parts of the Syria-Iraq borders and secure supply routes between the two countries.″
One day later Commander of the Russian force grouping in Syria Colonel General Sergei Surovikin confirmed the retaking of Abu Kamal:[15]
“Units of the 5th Assault Corps, assault groups of brigadier general Suheil and militias with support of Russian Air Force took part in liberating Abu Kamal. In the final stages of hostilities the Syrian Arab Army gained control over the Syrian-Iraqi border near the Euphrates River”.
However, on November 11 the city was recaptured by ISIL.[16] The Syrian Army and its allies retook complete control of the city by 19 November.[17] Concerns have been raised about what would happen to the village once ISIL was removed.[18]
Fox News reported on 4 September that a new “classified Iranian project”, the Imam Ali military base, was being constructed near Abu Kamal,[20] which was confirmed by satellite images.
On 27 October 2023 the US carried out air strikes against bases near the town that it claimed were being used by Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.[22] The US said that these were in response to Iranian backed attacks on its bases in the region.[22]
Syria
