{"id":47334,"date":"2017-10-17T18:28:58","date_gmt":"2017-10-17T18:28:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2017\/10\/17\/timeline-of-events-in-syrian-city-of-raqqa-once-isis-capital\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T03:24:00","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T03:24:00","slug":"timeline-of-events-in-syrian-city-of-raqqa-once-isis-capital","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/flashpoints\/2017\/10\/17\/timeline-of-events-in-syrian-city-of-raqqa-once-isis-capital\/","title":{"rendered":"Timeline of events in Syrian city of Raqqa, once ISIS capital"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A timeline of events in the northern Syrian city of Raqqa, captured by U.S.-backed Syrian forces from the Islamic State group on Tuesday:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2011<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

March \u2014 Protests break out in different parts of Syria demanding democratic reforms following Arab Spring protests in Egypt, Tunisia, Yemen, Libya and Bahrain that removed some Arab leaders who had been in power for decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

November \u2014 President Bashar Assad, who at the time was facing the most serious threat to his family\u2019s four-decade rule of Syria, heads to Raqqa where he attends Eid al-Adha prayers at the Al-Nour Mosque, meeting with local tribesmen in an attempt to show confidence and popularity. His visit was the first by a Syrian president to the city in decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2012<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

March \u2014 The largest anti-government protests in the city to date are held on the anniversary of the uprising in Syria. The protests are met with a heavy government crackdown that left over a dozen killed, sowing the seeds of the first armed group to emanate from the city. The insurgents retreat to the countryside of Raqqa amid clashes with government forces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2013<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

February \u2014 Armed groups, including al-Qaida\u2019s branch in Syria, seize control of the two major water dams in the Raqqa province. This strengthens their position, facilitating their attack on the city a month later. Without much fighting, Raqqa becomes the first city to fall to insurgent groups in what has become an armed rebellion against the central government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2014<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

January \u2014 Raqqa becomes the first city in Syria under full control of ISIS after the extremist group forces all other insurgents from the city. Its fall to ISIS was preceded with a campaign of attacks from the countryside, arrests of activists and kidnapping of foreigners, including Italian Priest Father Paolo, who remains missing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

June \u2014 ISIS captures Mosul, Iraqi\u2019s second-largest city, and pushes south as Iraqi military forces crumble, eventually capturing Saddam Hussein\u2019s hometown of Tikrit and reaching the outskirts of Baghdad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

June 29 \u2014 The militant group renames itself the Islamic State and declares the establishment of a \u201ccaliphate\u201d in territories under its control in Iraq and Syria. Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi ISIS declared the caliph. The group targets churches and Muslim shrines, and asks Christians to either convert or pay taxes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sept. 22 \u2014 The U.S.-led coalition begins an aerial campaign against ISIS in Syria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

August \u2014 ISIS releases a video showing a fighter beheading James Foley on the outskirts of Raqqa. The American journalist was kidnapped in Syria in 2012.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Members of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), backed by US special forces, walk on a building near Raqa’s central hospital as they clear the last positions on the frontline on Oct. 16, 2017 in the Islamic State group jihadists crumbling stronghold. (Bulent Kilic\/AFP\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

2015<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

January \u2014 1st Lt. Muath Al-Kaseasbeh, 26, a captured Jordanian pilot, ISIS burned alive by an ISIS fighter in Raqqa. The militant group filmed the burning in a chilling message to its opponents. Al-Kaseasbeh was captured a month earlier when his Jordanian F-16 crashed near Raqqa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2016<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nov. 5 \u2014 The US-backed and Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces launch the first of five phases to expel ISIS from Raqqa, calling it operation Euphrates Wrath. The operation aims to encircle Raqqa city before retaking it.<\/p>\n\n\n\t