{{Infobox settlement | name = al-Shaddadah | native_name = ٱلشَّدَّادَة | native_name_lang = ar | type = Town | pushpin_map = Syria | pushpin_label_position = | pushpin_mapsize = 250 | pushpin_map_caption = Location of al-Shaddadah in Syria | coordinates = {{coord|display=inline,title}} | subdivision_type = Country | subdivision_name = {{flag|Syria}} | subdivision_type1 = Governorate | subdivision_name1 = al-Hasakah | subdivision_type2 = District | subdivision_name2 = al-Hasakah | subdivision_type3 = Subdistrict | subdivision_name3 = al-Shaddadah | elevation_m = | population_total = 15806 | population_density_km2 = auto | population_as_of = 2004 | population_footnotes = {{#tag:ref|{{cite web |title=2004 Census Data for ''Nahiya al-Shaddadah'' |url=http://www.cbssyr.sy/new%20web%20site/General_census/census_2004/NH/TAB08-3-2004.htm |publisher=Syrian Central Bureau of Statistics |language=ar |access-date=2025-08-01 |archive-date=2015-11-21 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20151121155329/http://www.cbssyr.sy/new%20web%20site/General_census/census_2004/NH/TAB08-3-2004.htm |url-status=bot: unknown }} Also available in English: {{cite web |author=UN OCHA |author-link=United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs |title=2004 Census Data |url=https://data.humdata.org/dataset/syrian-arab-republic-other-0-0-0-0-0-0-0 |publisher=Humanitarian Data Exchange }}|name=census2004}} | timezone = AST | utc_offset = +3 | timezone_DST = | utc_offset_DST = | geocode = C4446 | website = }}
'''Al-Shaddadah''' or '''al-Shaddadi''' ({{langx|ar|ٱلشَّدَّادَة \ ٱلشَّدَّادِي|aš-Šaddādah / aš-Šaddādī}}) is a town in southern al-Hasakah Governorate, northeastern Syria. The town is the administrative center of the al-Shaddadah Subdistrict, which consists of 16 municipalities. At the 2004 census, al-Shaddadah had a population of 15,806.<ref name=census2004 />
== Name and geography == The town's name might be derived from "Shadadu"; a governor of the district of "Suru" mentioned in the annals of the Assyrian king Assurnasirpal II.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/jstor-592609|title= The Calculated Frightfulness of Ashur Nasir Apal|author= Albert Ten Eyck Olmstead|page= [https://archive.org/details/jstor-592609/page/n33 241]|year= 1918}}</ref> The town is situated off the western bank of the Khabur River. Nearby localities include al-Sabaa wa Arbain to the west.
== Syrian civil war ==
=== Early developments === {{Main|Battle of Shaddadi (2013)}} 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.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-syria-crisis-east-idUSBRE91D0LY20130214 |title=Syrian rebels say capture eastern town of al-Shaddadeh |work=Reuters |date=14 February 2013 |access-date=24 October 2015}}</ref> 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.<ref>[http://www.naharnet.com/stories/71910-jihadists-seize-syria-town-on-i Rebels Seize Syria Town on Iraq Border, Shoot Down Two Warplanes in Idlib] Naharnet, 14 February 2013</ref>
=== 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.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://international.la-croix.com/news/the-offensive-to-free-raqqa-has-begun/4163# |title=The offensive to free Raqqa has begun |first=Jean-Yves |last=Dana |date=7 November 2016 |access-date=23 December 2019 |newspaper=La Croix International}}</ref>
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.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=22 February 2016 |title=Kurds celebrate capture of key IS stronghold in Syria |url=https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/kurds-celebrate-capture-key-stronghold-syria |access-date=2025-12-18 |website=Middle East Eye |language=en}}</ref>
=== Capture and control by Kurdish-led forces === {{Main|2015 al-Hawl offensive|Al-Shaddadi offensive (2016)}}
[[File:Asayish, Coalition graduate 150 law enforcement guards.png|thumb|Asayish 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.<ref>{{cite web|author=Roy Gutman |title=New allies in northern Syria don't seem to share U.S. goals |publisher=McClatchy DC |url=http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/nation-world/world/middle-east/article41559747.html |date=27 October 2015 |access-date=7 November 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151114035347/http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/nation-world/world/middle-east/article41559747.html |archive-date=14 November 2015 }}</ref>
On 24 November 2015, it became known that ISIS militants were transferring their family members further south to the Deir ez-Zor Governorate.<ref>{{cite news |title=ISIS militants evacuate their families from major stronghold in Hasakah amid dramatic progress by Kurdish-Arab alliance |url=http://aranews.net/2015/11/isis-militants-evacuate-their-families-from-major-stronghold-in-hasakah-amid-dramatic-progress-by-kurdish-arab-alliance/ |agency=Ara News |date=24 November 2015 |access-date=5 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151126230709/http://aranews.net/2015/11/isis-militants-evacuate-their-families-from-major-stronghold-in-hasakah-amid-dramatic-progress-by-kurdish-arab-alliance/ |archive-date=2015-11-26 |url-status=dead }}</ref> 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.<ref name="inside">[https://www.buzzfeed.com/mikegiglio/airstrikes-alone-wont-stop-isis-inside-the-war-on-the-ground#.dmN9XX7Z07 Inside The War Against ISIS]</ref><ref name="210villages">{{Cite web |url=http://aranews.net/2015/12/as-kurdish-arab-alliance-prepares-to-storm-shaddadi-tribal-leaders-ask-isis-to-withdraw-to-avoid-civilian-casualties/ |title=As Kurdish-Arab alliance prepares to storm Shaddadi, tribal leaders ask ISIS to withdraw to avoid civilian casualties |access-date=2015-12-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160415100839/http://aranews.net/2015/12/as-kurdish-arab-alliance-prepares-to-storm-shaddadi-tribal-leaders-ask-isis-to-withdraw-to-avoid-civilian-casualties/ |archive-date=2016-04-15 |url-status=dead }}</ref> 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.<ref name="210villages" /> It was also reported that ISIS was beginning to evacuate some of its positions near al-Shaddadi.<ref name="210villages" />
On 19 February 2016, the town was captured by the SDF and subsequently became part of the DAANES.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hawarnews.com/%D8%B4%D8%AF%D8%A7%D8%AF%D8%A9-%D9%85%D8%AD%D8%B1%D8%B1%D8%A9/ |title=الشدادي محررة |language=ar |publisher=Hawar News Agency |date=2016-02-19 |access-date=2017-03-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170517122045/http://www.hawarnews.com/%D8%B4%D8%AF%D8%A7%D8%AF%D8%A9-%D9%85%D8%AD%D8%B1%D8%B1%D8%A9/ |archive-date=2017-05-17 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.anfenglish.com/kurdistan/sdf-liberate-the-entire-town-of-shaddadi |title=ANF | Ajansa Nûçeyan a Firatê |access-date=2016-02-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160220205042/http://www.anfenglish.com/kurdistan/sdf-liberate-the-entire-town-of-shaddadi |archive-date=2016-02-20 |url-status=dead }}</ref> 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.”<ref name=":0" />
Following its capture, the U.S. Army established a military base southeast of the city.{{cn|date=December 2025}} The base regularly receives cargo aircraft carrying logistical and military supplies and serves as a major hub for military coordination and anti-ISIS operations in cooperation with the SDF and local Asayish police force.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2025-08-31 |title=Carrying logistical equipment: Coalition’s cargo plane lands in Al-Shaddadi base in southern Al-Hasakah |url=https://www.syriahr.com/en/368979/ |access-date=2025-12-18 |website=The Syrian Observatory For Human Rights |language=en-CA}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-11-10 |title=Ongoing military reinforcement: Coalition’s cargo plane lands in Al-Shaddadi base in Al-Hasakah countryside |url=https://www.syriahr.com/en/373124/ |access-date=2025-12-18 |website=The Syrian Observatory For Human Rights |language=en-CA}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-12-17 |title=Security operation: “Al-Asayish” and “International Coalition” ki*ll member of IS*IS and arrest two others in Al-Hasakah |url=https://www.syriahr.com/en/375076/ |access-date=2025-12-18 |website=The Syrian Observatory For Human Rights |language=en-CA}}</ref>
The U.S. military base has been targeted with vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices (VBIEDs) and rocket attacks by ISIS<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-army/2019/01/22/isis-car-bomb-targets-us-troops-in-syria-one-week-after-four-americans-were-killed-in-manbij/ |title=ISIS car bomb targets US troops in Syria one week after four Americans were killed in Manbij |access-date=2019-01-24}}</ref> and various Iranian-backed militias, including the Islamic Resistance in Iraq,<ref>{{Cite web |date=3 January 2024 |title=US base in Syria comes under drone attack |url=https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/us-base-in-syria-comes-under-drone-attack/3098732 |access-date=2025-12-18 |website=Anadolu Agency}}</ref> notably during attacks on U.S. bases amid the Gaza conflict.<ref>{{Cite web |date=13 January 2024 |title=Targeting the al-Shaddadi base of the International Coalition in Syrian Kurdistan-ARK NEWS |url=https://www.arknews.net/en/node/50420 |access-date=2025-12-18 |website=ARK News |language=en}}</ref>
== Economy == The areas surrounding al-Shaddadah contain one of the large oil and gas fields in Hasakah Governorate.<ref name=":0" />
== References == {{Reflist|30em}}
{{Al-Hasakah Governorate|hasakah}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shaddadah}} Category:Populated places in Hasakah District Category:Towns in Hasakah Governorate