The Rojava–Islamist conflict was a major theater in the Syrian civil war (2011–2024) and Syrian conflict in which the forces of the autonomous region of Rojava in northern Syria fought against Islamist militant groups. It began in 2013 after fighting erupted between the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) and Islamist rebel factions in the city of Ras al-Ayn. Kurdish forces launched a campaign in an attempt to take control of the Islamist-controlled areas in the governorate of al-Hasakah and some parts of Raqqa and Aleppo governorates after al-Qaeda in Syria used those areas to attack the YPG. The Kurdish groups and their allies' goal was also to capture Kurdish areas from the Arab Islamist rebels and strengthen the autonomy of the region of Rojava. The Syrian Democratic Forces took substantial territory from Islamist groups, in particular the Islamic State (IS), provoking Turkish involvement in the Syrian civil war. On August 20, 2026, the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria was integrated into the Syrian state, ending the conflict.