The 2013 Latakia offensive (called Operation Liberation of the Coast by the Free Syrian Army and its supporters, and The Descendants of Aisha, Mother of the Believers by jihadists) was a campaign during the Syrian civil war launched by Salafist and jihadist rebel forces in the Latakia Governorate. The stated aim of the offensive was to conquer Al-Haffah city, but government supporters assumed conquering Mount Nabi Younes was more likely the real aim. A calculated side effect may have been to spark more sectarian violence in Syria by carrying out a sectarian attack on an Alawite-majority area. The offensive began in early August 2013. During the campaign, rebel forces captured a dozen villages. However, in mid-August, the military counter-attacked and recaptured all of the territory previou