The Hama and Homs offensive (March–April 2015) during the Syrian Civil War was launched by the

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Daesh, is a transnational Salafi jihadist organization and unrecognized quasi-state. IS occupied signi ...

(ISIL) in an attempt to cut the government supply line between its troops in central and northern

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

The offensive

ISIL launched a two-pronged offensive in the eastern rural areas of Hama and Homs provinces on 20 March 2015, in an attempt to cut the main government supply line linking

Aleppo Aleppo is a city in Syria, which serves as the capital of the Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Governorates of Syria, governorate of Syria. With an estimated population of 2,098,000 residents it is Syria's largest city by urban area, and ...

, Khanasir,

Salamiyah file:Hama qalat shmemis salamiyyah syria 1995.jpg, A full view of Shmemis (spring 1995) Salamiyah (; also transliterated ''Salamiyya'', ''Salamieh'' or ''Salamya'') is a city in central Syria, administratively part of the Hama Governorate. It is ...

and

Hama Hama ( ', ) is a city on the banks of the Orontes River in west-central Syria. It is located north of Damascus and north of Homs. It is the provincial capital of the Hama Governorate. With a population of 996,000 (2023 census), Hama is one o ...

with each other. It was also speculated the aim of the assault was to raise morale after losses to Kurdish forces in the northeast of the country, especially during the Siege of Kobanî. After three days of fighting, during which ISIL stormed several military checkpoints, 20 soldiers were killed in Homs, while 74 soldiers died in Hama and a number of others were missing. Early on 23 March, the jihadists attacked the military airport in Tadmur, in Homs province, and reportedly shot down a Syrian Arab Air Force

Sukhoi Su-24 The Sukhoi Su-24 (NATO reporting name: Fencer) is a supersonic, night fighter, all-weather tactical bomber developed in the Soviet Union. The aircraft has a variable-sweep wing, Twinjet, twin engines and a side-by-side seating arrangement for it ...

attack aircraft. On 31 March, Islamic State militants killed 46–48 civilians in the village of Mabuja, in Hama province, before the Army managed to repel their attack. The subsequent fighting also left 31 soldiers and reportedly 40 militants dead. Six of the NDF soldiers were executed. The victims were either shot dead, burned or stabbed. 50 other civilians were kidnapped by ISIL from the village. On 5 April, ISIL restarted its offensive by attacking four villages in the Salamiyah District of Hama, but reportedly did not manage to gain any significant ground. Two civilians were killed due to ISIL shelling. By 7 April, after two days of continues fighting, the ISIL assault was repelled. Still, on 9 April, ISIL attacked the al-Tababir and Hannorah checkpoints, in the east of the al-Froqlos area of Homs province, leaving 17 soldiers dead, three of whom were beheaded.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hama and Homs offensive (March-April 2015) Military operations of the Syrian civil war in 2015 Hama Governorate in the Syrian civil war Homs Governorate in the Syrian civil war Military operations of the Syrian civil war involving the Syrian government Military operations of the Syrian civil war involving the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant March 2015 in Syria April 2015 in Syria

The offensive

See also

References