The al-Dumayr offensive was a

military offensive An offensive is a military operation that seeks through an aggressive projection of armed forces to occupy territory, gain an objective or achieve some larger strategic, operational, or tactical goal. Another term for an offensive often used by t ...

launched in April 2016 by the

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant An Islamic state is a State (polity), state that has a form of government based on sharia, Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical Polity, polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a t ...

near the town of

al-Dumayr Dumeir, also Dumair, Damir and Dumayr ( ar, الضمير) is a city located 45 kilometers north-east of Damascus, Syria. Archaeology An altar dedicated to the Semitic deity, Baalshamin in 94 CE, now in the Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris, indica ...

, east of

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

. The attack is notable for the abduction of hundreds of

cement A cement is a binder, a chemical substance used for construction that sets, hardens, and adheres to other materials to bind them together. Cement is seldom used on its own, but rather to bind sand and gravel ( aggregate) together. Cement mix ...

plant workers by ISIL.

The offensive

On 4 April, ISIL attacked areas around the city of

, northeast of Damascus, resulting in 250–300 cement plant workers being abducted from a factory by ISIL. ISIL reportedly massacred 175 of them afterwards, while 75 escaped. Druze employees were murdered while non-minority Muslims were released. On 6 April, ISIL launched an attack on the Dumayr Airbase, outside the town, sending five

car bomb A car bomb, bus bomb, lorry bomb, or truck bomb, also known as a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED), is an improvised explosive device designed to be detonated in an automobile or other vehicles. Car bombs can be roughly divided ...

s and killing 12 Syrian soldiers. The attack was repelled by the Syrian Army and the

National Defence Forces The National Defence Forces (NDF) ( ar, قوات الدفاع الوطني ''Quwāt ad-Difāʿ al-Watanī'') is a pro-government militia, that was formed on 1 November 2012 and organized by the Syrian government during the Syrian Civil War as a ...

. Due to a partial

ceasefire A ceasefire (also known as a truce or armistice), also spelled cease fire (the antonym of 'open fire'), is a temporary stoppage of a war in which each side agrees with the other to suspend aggressive actions. Ceasefires may be between state act ...

, the

Syrian Armed Forces The Syrian Arab Armed Forces ( ar, الْقُوَّاتُ الْمُسَلَّحَةُ الْعَرَبِيَّةُ السُّورِيَّةُ, al-Quwwāt al-Musallaḥah al-ʿArabīyah as-Sūrīyah) are the military forces of the Syrian Arab Re ...

reportedly allowed some

Jaysh al-Islam ) , successor = , allies = * * * * * Free Syrian Army * Ahrar al-Sham *al-Rahman Legion (sometimes) *1st Brigade of Damascus (sometimes) * Al-Nusra Front (formerly) * Saraya Ahl al-Sham * Aknaf Bait al-Maqdis , opponents ...

militants from

Ghouta Ghouta ( ar, غُوطَةُ دِمَشْقَ / ALA-LC: ''Ḡūṭat Dimašq'') is a countryside and suburban area in southwestern Syria that surrounds the city of Damascus along its eastern and southern rim. Name Ghouta is the Arabic term (''gh ...

to cross into al-Dumayr in order to fight ISIL. The Syrian Air Force also hit ISIL targets in the front with the rebels. On 9 April, a new ISIL attack on the airport and power plant was reportedly repelled, after which the airport was declared secured. On 11 April, a Syrian Air Force plane was shot down by ISIL near the airbase. Two days later, yet another attack on the airbase was repelled, although Army checkpoints outside the base had sustained heavy damage. On 14 April, the Army launched a counter-attack, quickly recapturing several hilltops, and by the following day, they had retaken control of the Khan Abu Shamat base and the Badia cement plant. On 16 April, the military continued to advance and recaptured the Battalion 559 base, Al-Sini Factory, Al-Safa Station and the triangle Baghdad-Palmyra-Jordan checkpoint, ending the ISIL offensive.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Al-Dumayr offensive (2016 04) Damascus in the Syrian civil war Military operations of the Syrian civil war in 2016 Massacres of the Syrian civil war perpetrated by ISIL Military operations of the Syrian civil war involving the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant Massacres of the Syrian civil war in 2016 Military operations of the Syrian civil war involving the Syrian government April 2016 events in Syria