HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Deir ez-Zor offensive (January–February 2017) was a military operation 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) against the
Syrian Armed Forces The Syrian Armed Forces () are the military forces of Syria. Up until the fall of Bashar al-Assad's Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Syria Region, Ba'ath Party Ba'athist Syria, regime in December 2024, the Syrian Arab Armed Forces were the sta ...
, to capture the city of
Deir ez-Zor Deir ez-Zor () is the largest city in eastern Syria and the seventh largest in the country. Located on the banks of the Euphrates to the northeast of the capital Damascus, Deir ez-Zor is the capital of the Deir ez-Zor Governorate. In the 2018 ...
, on 14 January 2017. The offensive came amid the group losing large amounts of territory in the Raqqa offensive as well as the Turkish military intervention in Syria, while Iraqi forces were advancing in its Iraq headquarters in
Mosul Mosul ( ; , , ; ; ; ) is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of Nineveh Governorate. It is the second largest city in Iraq overall after the capital Baghdad. Situated on the banks of Tigris, the city encloses the ruins of the ...
. It ended with the city being split into two parts.


Background

Deir ez-Zor Deir ez-Zor () is the largest city in eastern Syria and the seventh largest in the country. Located on the banks of the Euphrates to the northeast of the capital Damascus, Deir ez-Zor is the capital of the Deir ez-Zor Governorate. In the 2018 ...
is the capital of
Deir ez-Zor Governorate Deir ez-Zor Governorate ( / ALA-LC: ''Muḥāfaẓat Dayr az-Zawr,'' Kurdish'':'' ''Parêzgeha Dêrezor'') is one of the fourteen governorates (provinces) of Syria. It is situated in eastern Syria, bordering Iraq. It has an area of 33,060 k ...
and lies in an
oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) and lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturate ...
-rich region. The city was besieged by ISIL since January 2015 when ISIL severed all land routes to the city. An estimated 100,000 civilians were besieged in the government-controlled areas.


The offensive

ISIL began the offensive on 14 January 2017, launching its heaviest assault yet on
Syrian Arab Army The Syrian Arab Armed Forces (SAAF; ) were the combined armed forces of Syria from 1963 to 2024. They served during the rule of the Ba'ath Party in Syria. The SAAF consisted of the Syrian Arab Army, Syrian Arab Air Force, Syrian Arab Air D ...
-held areas of the city. At least 12 soldiers and two civilians were killed in the attack, while 20 ISIL fighters were killed in air strikes according to
Syrian Observatory for Human Rights The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (also known as SOHR; ), founded in May 2006, is a United Kingdom-based information office whose stated aim is to document human rights abuses in Syria; since 2011 it has focused on the Syrian Civil War. ...
(SOHR). The aim of the attack was to cut the road between Deir ez-Zor Airport and the city. SAA however launched a counter-attack and repelled ISIL's attack. The group advanced around the city's cemetery and in points around the airbase during the day.The “Islamic State” advances in new areas at Deir Ezzor and the intense raids on the city and its vicinity continue
/ref> ISIL continued its offensive on the next day and launched
car bomb A car bomb, bus bomb, van 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 roug ...
s on checkpoints controlled by pro-government forces. They then shelled Tallat al-Brouk district and the town of Bagheliya, reportedly capturing both after pro-government forces evacuated. At the same time, they also stormed and captured Sakan al-Jahiziya neighborhood on the highway between the city and
Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...
. ISIL also advanced along the Jam’eyyat al-Rowwad and captured a strategic mountain overlooking the city. SOHR meanwhile stated ISIL had captured Assad Hospital, but according to local sources, the army recaptured the Assad Hospital and Al-Masdar News cited local sources stating that ISIL never captured it. The Syrian Army backed by the
Syrian Arab Air Force The Syrian Air Force () is the air force branch of the Syrian Armed Forces. It was established in 1948, and first saw action in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. Under Ba'athist Syria until December 8, 2024, it was known as the Syrian Arab Air Force ...
later launched a counter-attack in the following night and managed to repel ISIL away from its frontlines. More than 80 people including 28 pro-government fighters, at least 40 ISIL fighters and 14 civilians were reported killed according to SOHR by the end of the second day. ISIL launched another attack on 16 January and succeeded in cutting the road linking the airbase to the city, leaving the government enclave split in two. The group also captured the al-Jaryah residential project. Heavy clashes were also reported around the provincial cemetery and a road junction known locally as the Panorama Roundabout, and later this day, ISIL reportedly captured the cemetery. The clashes forced the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
to suspend food airdrops to the city. The Syrian Army and its allies, backed by the
Russian Air Force The Russian Air Force () is a branch of the Russian Aerospace Forces, the latter being formed on 1 August 2015 with the merging of the Russian Air Force and the Russian Aerospace Defence Forces. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the reb ...
and Syrian Arab Air Force, launched a counter-attack and clashed against ISIL on 17 January. On the night of 17 January, the Syrian Air Force managed to transport around 200 reinforcements to the besieged city via helicopters. On January 18, clashes were reported to take place to the northwest of Deir ez-Zor, near Tal Barouk and the university housing area. Meanwhile, the Syrian and Russian airforces were reported to bomb the cemetery area and Mount Tharda. ISIL captured the power plant to the west of the airbase during the day. The group set tires and barrels of crude oil on fire to create a smokescreen in order to prevent airstrikes on their positions. It also executed 10 soldiers it had captured. ISIL clashed with the Army in al-Rasafa, al-Ommal, al-Mowazzafin, al-Jabilah and Rashdiyyah districts as well in the area around the airbase and the Panorama Roundabout on 19 January. It advanced in al-Mowazzafin, al-Ommal and Rasafa as well as around the airbase. ISIL carried out a large night-time attack on 20 January, targeting the airport. The next day, the Russian Air Force began using strategic bombers in order to support Syrian forces in the city. This enabled the Army to capture several points in the cemetery and Panorama Roundabout in a counter-attack. An ISIL assault in the Panorama area, south of the city, was repelled by the Army on 22 January. A counter-attack was later launched by them and their allies, helping them to advance around the cemetery and the surrounding hills, including capturing the strategic cemetery hill. Heavy clashes took place in the cemetery area and around the Panorama area with warplanes carrying out many raids around the city on 23 January. On the next day, ISIL reportedly advanced in the vicinity of Brigade 137. On the night of 23/24 January, around 500 Syrian soldiers were successfully transported to the besieged city in a joint Syrian-Russian aerial operation which involved 22 transport helicopters as well as additional support aircraft. During 26 January, the Al-Qassem Group together with 104th Airborne Brigade of the Republican Guard continued clashing with ISIL over the cemetery, at the end of the day controlling two-thirds of the area.


Aftermath

On 18 February, an ISIL attack on the Panorama checkpoint was repelled. Three days later, the 104th Brigade of the Republican Guard captured Alloush hill, coming within 1,500 meters of lifting the siege on the Airport.


See also

* September 2016 Deir ez-Zor air raid * Deir ez-Zor clashes (disambiguation) ** Deir ez-Zor offensive (December 2014) ** Deir ez-Zor offensive (January 2016)


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Deir ez-Zor offensive (January-February 2017) Military operations of the Syrian civil war involving the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant Military operations of the Syrian civil war involving the Syrian government Military operations of the Syrian civil war involving Russia Military operations of the Syrian civil war in 2017 January 2017 in Syria February 2017 in Syria Siege of Deir ez-Zor (2014–2017) Deir ez-Zor Governorate in the Syrian civil war