As-Suwayda offensive (June 2018) | |||||||
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Part of the Syrian Civil War | |||||||
Map the Suwayda Governorate | |||||||
| |||||||
Belligerents | |||||||
Hezbollah [1] [2] SSNP [3] Mountain Brigade [4] | Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Brig. Gen. Sharaf Mazen Ahmed Barakat † [5] | Unknown | ||||||
Units involved | |||||||
Eagles of the Whirlwind
| Military of ISIL | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
40 killed [6] [7] [8] | 31 killed [6] [7] [8] |
The As-Suwayda offensive (June 2018) began on 7 June in the rural parts of the Suwayda Governorate in southeastern Syria, [9] after an evacuation deal was made between ISIL and the Syrian government concluding an anti-ISIL offensive in southern Damascus. [10]
The offensive was launched on 7 June, after several days of preparatory artillery shelling, [9] The Syrian military launched several airstrikes on ISIL positions in the Northeastern part of the Suwayda Governorate [10] and advanced 12 kilometers on the first day towards the village of Khirbet al-Umbashi, [11] [12] capturing four areas. [13] Government forces continued to advance over the following two days [6] [7] and by 9 June, they were within 15 kilometers of the ISIL stronghold of Al-Kara’a. [14] By 13 June, after government forces failed to capture the whole ISIL pocket, the intensity of the fighting decreased. [15]
On 16 June, the Army clashed with ISIL in Al-Habiriyah in the northeastern part of the province, while they also shelled the village along with Khirbet al-Umbashi and Al-Tamthuna. The Syrian air force also targeted ISIL positions in Al-Kara’a. [16] The next day, the military began sending more forces to the area in preparation for the second phase of their offensive. [17]
On 18 June, pro-government forces were able to capture Bir al-Awra and Tell Arar in northeastern Al-Suwayda, as well as make some gains near Tell Asfar and Khirbet al-Umbashi. As they advanced, ISIL was able to conduct an ambush, killing two Hezbollah fighters. [18] The following day, government troops once again advanced [8] and captured Khirbet al-Umbashi, [19] with eight soldiers being killed in the area during the day. [20]
On 21 June, the Syrian military captured Khirbet Hawi Husayn in the northeast from ISIL, while ISIL killed a Syrian Brigadier General in clashes in the region. The next day, according to Islamic State's Amaq Agency, ISIL ambushed Syrian forces near Tell Ghanem killing 20 government soldiers as well as a commander from the Syrian military, in the process they also managed to destroy two tanks and another vehicle. While the Syrian military reportedly captured the villages of Tell Mughir and Abu Jabal. [21]
On 25 June, the Amaq Agency claimed that ISIL attacked the Syrian army near Bir al-Neama killing 9 soldiers as well destroying 2 vehicles. [22]
On 14 July, ISIL launched an offensive against pro-government forces in the northeastern part of the governorate attacking a dam and a military outpost, though making no territorial gains they inflicted several casualties on pro-government forces. [23]
On 25 July, ISIL conducted an Inghimasi attack in the Governorate killing more than 250. The attack began with attacks on government positions around the city and checkpoints, after running out of ammunition the fighters detonated their explosive belts, ISIL attempted to carry out two other attacks but the Syrian airforce struck ISIL fighters before they had the opportunity to detonate their explosive belts. [24] [25]
On 1 August, ISIL conducted a raid at the Khalkhalah airbase. Amaq news agency claimed that militants destroyed 2 warplanes and 6 drones. However, according to military sources, security force foiled the attack. [26]
The Palmyra offensive of May 2015 was a military operation launched during the Syrian Civil War by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) on May 13–26, 2015, in an attempt to capture the government-held Tadmur District of the Homs Governorate, including the administrative centre of Tadmur, known in English as Palmyra. The ruins and ancient monuments of Palmyra, which lie on the south-western fringe of the modern city, have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1980. The ruins were part of a desert oasis that was one of the most significant cultural centers of the ancient world, linking the civilizations of Persia, India, China with the Roman Empire through trade. The offensive was one of the largest offensives launched by ISIL, the largest one conducted by ISIL in Syria since the 2014 Eastern Syria offensive, with the result of the offensive increasing ISIL's control of Syria to at least 50%.
The following is a timeline of the Syrian Civil War from January to July 2015. Information about aggregated casualty counts is found at Casualties of the Syrian Civil War.
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The Palmyra offensive in December 2016 was a military operation launched by the military of ISIL which led to the re-capture of the ancient city of Palmyra, and an unsuccessful ISIL attack on the Tiyas T-4 Airbase to the west of the city. ISIL previously controlled the city from May 2015 until March 2016.
The Syrian Desert campaign was a military campaign launched by Syrian rebel forces affiliated with the Free Syrian Army's Southern Front and their allies in the southern Syrian Desert and the eastern Qalamoun Mountains. The aim of the offensive was to expel the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant from the desert in southern Syria and to open a supply route between two rebel-held areas.
The Southwestern Daraa offensive was launched by an ISIL affiliate, the Khalid ibn al-Walid Army, in the southwest of Syria near the Golan Heights and on the border with Israel and Jordan.
The Syrian Desert campaign was a large-scale military operation of the Syrian Army that initially started along the highway from Damascus to the border with Iraq against rebel forces during the Syrian civil war. Its first intended goal was to capture both the highway and the al-Tanf border crossing, thus securing the Damascus countryside from a potential rebel attack. Later, multiple other fronts were opened as part of the operation throughout the desert, as well as operation "Grand Dawn" against ISIL with the aim of reopening the Damascus-Palmyra highway and preparing for an offensive towards Deir ez-Zor.
The Central Syria campaign, known as "Operation Khuzam", or "Lavender", was a large-scale military operation of the Syrian Army (SAA) against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) during the Syrian Civil War. Its goal was to capture the strategic oil town of Al-Sukhnah, and besiege and capture 11,000 square kilometers of ISIL territory in central Syria, after which the Syrian Army would advance towards Deir ez-Zor, and lift the three-year ISIL siege of the government's enclave in the city. Afterwards, the Syrian Army advanced towards the Islamic State's then-capital of Mayadin.
The 2017 Euphrates Crossing offensive was a military offensive launched by the Syrian Arab Army against members of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in the Deir ez-Zor Governorate, following the breaking of the three-year siege of the city of Deir ez-Zor. The Euphrates Crossing offensive, conducted by government troops, was done with the aim of denying US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces and the US itself leverage over the Syrian government.
The northwestern Syria campaign was a large-scale military operation that initially started with an offensive conducted by ISIL forces on areas controlled by Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) in the northern Hama Governorate. Subsequently, the Syrian Armed Forces launched their own offensive against HTS and other rebel groups in the area. The campaign took place at the intersection of the provinces of Hama, Idlib and Aleppo.
The 2017 Abu Kamal offensive, codenamed Operation Fajr-3, was a military offensive launched by the Syrian Arab Army and its allies against members of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in the Deir ez-Zor Governorate. The aim of the offensive was to capture ISIL's last urban stronghold in Syria, the border town of Abu Kamal. This offensive was a part of the larger Eastern Syria campaign.
The Eastern Syria campaign of September–December 2017 was a large-scale military operation of the Syrian Army (SAA) and its allies against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) during the Syrian Civil War. Its goal was to clear the city of Deir ez-Zor of any remaining ISIL forces, capture ISIL's de facto capital of Mayadin, as well as seize the border town of Abu Kamal, which became one of ISIL's final urban strongholds by the latter stages of the campaign.
The Southern Damascus offensive began on 19 April 2018 when the Syrian Armed Forces began to clear an enclave held by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in southern Damascus in the Yarmouk Camp.
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The following is a timeline of the Syrian Civil War from May to August 2018. Information about aggregated casualty counts is found at Casualties of the Syrian Civil War.
The 2018 Southern Syria offensive, code-named Operation Basalt, was a military operation launched by the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and its allies against the rebels and ISIL in Southern Syria. The fighting began with a surprise attack on rebel-held areas in the eastern part of the Daraa Governorate in an attempt to fracture rebel-held lines and weaken morale, ahead of their offensive in the greater Southern Syria region.
The 2018 As-Suwayda attacks were a string of suicide bombings and mass shooting incidents in As-Suwayda, Syria on 25 July, 2018. At least 258 people were killed and 180 wounded. The attacks were carried out by the Islamic State and largely targeted Syria's Druze minority.A 17-year old Druze girl was beheaded.
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