Northern Sun Battalion

Northern Sun Battalion
Northern Sun Battalion
كتائب شمس الشمال
Leaders	Muhammad Mustafa Ali ("Abu Adel") (co-general commander, 2014-16,[a] general commander since 2016); Faisal Saadoun ("Abu Layla") (DOW) (leading commander,[a] 2014-16); Adnan Abu-Amjad † (former deputy commander) ; Sherwan Derwish (commander and spokesperson); Brig. Gen. Mohammed Hammou (first commander); Adnan al-Ahmad (commander-in-chief in Hasakah Governorate); Raizan Abu Mahmoud (commander); Abdul Qader Sheikh Muhammad ("Abdo Dushka") † (field commander, killed in April 2015); Ibrahim al-Banawi (Soldiers of the Two Holy Mosques Brigade commander); Gaddafi Abu Ali Jreikh † (Dam Martyrs Brigade commander);
Dates of operation	April 2014 – present
Group(s)	Euphrates Brigades; Soldiers of the Two Holy Mosques Brigade; Euphrates Martyrs Brigade; Dam Martyrs Brigade; Al-Qusais Brigade; Manbij Turkmen Brigade;
Headquarters	Manbij, Aleppo Governorate
Active regions	Aleppo Governorate; Raqqa Governorate; Hasakah Governorate;
Ideology	Federalism; Democracy
Size	+100 (2014); 2,500 (self-claim in 2016);
Part of	Manbij Military Council; Syrian Democratic Forces; Free Syrian Army; Army of Revolutionaries (2015–2016); Euphrates Volcano (2014–2015); Dawn of Freedom Brigades (2014–2015);
Allies	People's Protection Units; Jabhat al-Akrad; Jabhat Thuwar al-Raqqa;
Opponents	Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
Battles and wars	Syrian Civil War Inter-rebel conflict during the Syrian Civil War Northern Aleppo offensive (February–July 2014); ; ; Syrian Kurdish–Islamist conflict (2013–present) Siege of Kobanî; Tell Abyad offensive; 2015 Al-Hawl offensive; Manbij offensive (2016); Battle of al-Bab; Raqqa campaign (2016–present) Battle of Tabqa (2017); Battle of Raqqa (2017); ; ;

The Northern Sun Battalion (Arabic: كتائب شمس الشمال, romanized: Katā'ib Šams aš-Šamāl) is an armed rebel group affiliated with the Free Syrian Army and part of the Syrian Democratic Forces that has been active during the Syrian Civil War.