Siege of Nubl and al-Zahraa

Siege of Nubl and al-Zahraa
Part of the Syrian Civil War
Syrian Army soldiers after breaking the siege of Nubl and al-Zahraa, 3 February 2016. A flag of the local "Soldiers of the Mahdi" (Imam Hujja Regiment) forces is in the foreground.
Date 19 July 2012 – 3 February 2016 (3 years, 6 months, 2 weeks and 1 day) Location Nubl and Al-Zahraa, Aleppo Governorate, Syria Result Decisive Syrian government victory[5] Rebel failure to capture Nubl and Al-Zahraa Syrian Army and allies break the siege in an offensive in early 2016
Belligerents
Free Syrian Army[1][2] Islamic Front[2] Al-Nusra Front[2] Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant[3]	Syrian Government  Iran  Russia (from late 2015) Allied militias: Hezbollah Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba[4]
Commanders and leaders
Abu Qudama al-Urduni †[6] Sheikh Mahmoud al-Khayr †[7][better source needed] Abu ‘Isma’aeel al-Hamawi †[7][better source needed]	Mohsen Ghajarian †
Units involved
Free Syrian Army Al-Tawhid Brigade[8] Conquest Brigade[1] Liwa Ahrar Souriya[1] Saladin Ayubi Brigade[9]	Syrian Armed Forces Syrian Army National Defence Forces Local Defence Forces[10] Baqir Brigade[11] Syrian Air Force[1] Iranian Armed Forces Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps[12]  Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force[13]  Russian Armed Forces Russian Air Force Lebanese and Syrian Hezbollah Imam al-Mahdi Scouts[10] National Ideological Resistance[10] Quwat al-Ridha[10] Soldiers of the Mahdi[10] Imam Hujja Regiment[10]
Strength
Unknown	3,000 NDF fighters[14] 125 Lebanese Hezbollah fighters[14]

The siege of Nubl and al-Zahraa during the Syrian civil war was laid by rebels to capture two Syrian government-held towns north of Aleppo, after they had seized most of the northern countryside in July 2012. The siege was lifted on 3 February 2016, as a result of a Syrian government offensive.^[15]