On the 21th June the Afrin Liberation Forces or “Hêzên Rizgariya Efrînê” released photos, a video and statements about a raid carried out by the group on an outpost of the SNA (reportedly Faylaq al-Sham also known as the Sham Legion) between the villages of Brad and Kafr Nabu in the Aleppo Governorate in northern Syria (an approximate location could be at these coordinates-“36°21’49.96″N 36°53’52.05″E”).
The Afrin Liberation Forces or “Hêzên Rizgariya Efrînê” are a well-equipped group affiliated with the YPG and the SDF, who are currently fighting an insurgency, using mainly HPG (PKK’s armed wing) tactics, against the Syrian National Army (SNA) and the Turkish army in SNA-controlled Afrin and Aleppo governorate. The SNA is an umbrella group of the FSA (Free Syrian Army) groups and other Turkish backed groups created by Turkey in 2017, which controls most of the Afrin governorate and parts of the northern Aleppo governorate countryside.
The raiding team consisted of five fighters mainly equipped with small arms and one with an RPG launcher. Their weapons are of high quality in comparison with the SNA and the fighters they attacked. They can be seen, in the footage released, armed with 5.56×45mm M16A4, 5.45×39mm AK-74M and 7.62×39mm AKM-patterned self-loading rifles and of course a 5.45×39mm AKS-74U.
During the initial phase of the attack, the RPG gunner hits the fortified outpost with a number of rocket propelled grenades including at least one PG-7VL (possibly Bulgarian or Russian/Soviet produced), one PG-7VM (probably Bulgarian or Russian/Soviet produced), one PG-7V (possibly an Iranian PG7-AT1) which appear to have penetrated the outpost.
Then three to four of the attackers move under the cover of the RPG fire towards the outpost firing their rifles periodically. This is certainly a period of the attack that would have been well served by suppressive fire from a general-purpose machine gun like a 7.62×54mmR PKM. As they moved closer a figher threw three grenades (possibly of the F1 grenade type) in the direction of the outpost, then when the RPG gunner stopped firing one fighter clears a forward position. Another fighter finds and engages three SNA fighters, then the fighter who cleared the outer position sees another member of the SNA and opens fire, killing him. He then continues firing on three more SNA fighters as they flee. After the raid they looted the outpost.
M16A4-patterned rifles are mainly used by the Afrin Liberation Forces in a Designated Marksman Rifle role and are often fitted with thermal scopes. They are used to attack and harass outposts with accurate fire, both day and night. Although possible they captured the M16A4 it is unlikely as they predominantly capture weapons from low-level SNA fighters who don’t carry the high valued M16 and M4-type rifles. The Afrin Liberation Forces’ connection with the YPG and SDF may offer an explanation. The M16A4 may have been captured from ISIS and subsequently used by the SDF or may perhaps have been one supplied by the International Coalition led by the United States.
The AK-74M, like the M16A4, is not generally carried by the low-level SNA fighters that the Afrin Liberation Forces often engage. It is also only very rarely seen with SDF forces and then most frequently with the YPG Special Forces – YAT “Yekîneyên Antî Teror”. A possible source is either the local arms market in Aleppo or Afrin (an AK-74M purchased in neighboring Idlib costs about $800-$900) or possibly it may have been acquired through the corruption of SyAA soldiers (for example a SyAA officer sold two T-72 tanks to Jaysh al-Islam in Damascus in 2014).
The ubiquity of the AKM and the many sources they can be procured from makes it nearly impossible to identify the source of the Afrin Liberation Forces’ AKM-patterned rifles without closer examination and further research on the ground.
The AKS-74U is another high-value weapon, not carried by low-level SNA fighters the Afrin Liberation Forces encounter. The carbines are, however, carried by SDF commanders and the YPG Special Forces YAT much like the AK-74M. The Afrin Liberation Forces may have obtained the rifle on the local market or through the corruption of SyAA soldiers.
During the attack the Afrin Liberation Forces captured three 7.62×39mm AKM self-loading rifles that appear to be of Chinese or Albanian-origin, a 7.62×54mmR Mosin-Nagant bolt action rifle, fitted with what appears to be a commercially available Chinese scope, an RPG-7 patterned launcher, a 7.62×54mmR Zastava M84 general-purpose machine gun, a single F1 grenade and a Pulsar Quantum XQ50 thermal observation device. All normal weapons likely to be found with the SNA but the more expensive Pulsar Quantum XQ50, which costs about $2,350 – $2,450 in the neighboring Idlib governorate, is very unusual to see with low-level SNA fighters. With this thermal observation device was a Turkish Grey Wolves patch displayed (see the photo below).
This was an effective raid which overpowered the unsuspecting defenders and lead to the capture of their weapons and equipment. This is one of several attacks the Afrin Liberation Forces have carried out since early 2019. Over the most recent months, they have announced six of their fighters have been killed in action with them only announcing four killed in 2019, so it is possible that the SNA have stepped up their security operations or the Afrin Liberation Forces have increased their operational tempo which has resulted in more casualties. These numbers should be taken with a grain of salt, as it is likely more have been killed and the Afrin Liberation Forces, as most groups in Syria, probably don’t reveal accurate casualties figures.
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