Last month, several Syrian groups and battalions with different affiliations have increased coordination ahead of an expected Turkish operation in northern Syria, according to news accounts and different not-for-attribution sources.

The disparate Syrian groups have reportedly established a joint operations room, so-called ‘North Thunderbolt’ located at a Russian base in the village of Hardatnin in the northern countryside of Aleppo, according to Bas News, a news site based in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

According to sources cited in the report, the operations room includes the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG); a battalion affiliated with the Iran-backed Fatemiyoun; a battalion affiliated with the Lebanese Shiite Hezbollah movement; Iranian-backed groups from the towns of Nubl and al-Zahraa; formations of the Syrian regime forces from the towns of Abna al-Sahel, Hayyan, Haraytan, Anadan and Masakan; and the Baath Brigades.

The North Thunderbolt operations room aims to manage the military field in the area, in addition to coordinating and securing lines of withdrawal and supply for the YPG in the event of a Turkish attack, according to a statement by the North Thunderbolt operations room.