Barisha, Harem District

Barisha is a village in the Harem District of Idlib Governorate in northwestern Syria. It lies in a region that has undergone extensive conflict and shifting control during the Syrian civil war.

This is not a tourist destination; the village consists of rural dwellings and agricultural land and has been affected by the broader security situation in Idlib Governorate.

Barisha was part of the rural fabric of northwestern Syria prior to the civil war and later came under control of various armed groups during the conflict. In October 2019 the village was the location of a high-profile counterterrorism operation conducted by U.S. forces.

The village sits in northwestern Syria’s Idlib Governorate near the border with Turkey, within Harem District and among other small settlements in the area.

• 2019 security incident: On 26 October 2019 a United States special operations raid at a compound in the village resulted in the death of the Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, an event widely reported in international media.