The Eastern Hama offensive (2017) was a

military operation A military operation is the coordinated military actions of a state, or a non-state actor, in response to a developing situation. These actions are designed as a military plan to resolve the situation in the state or actor's favor. Operations ma ...

conducted by the Syrian Army against

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

(ISIL) with the goal to secure the Ithriyah-Sheikh Hilal road, the government supply line towards Aleppo, and advance towards Wadi Auzain.

The offensive

On 31 May, the Syrian Arab Army and its allies, supported by the Russian Air Force, began an offensive towards the IS stronghold of Uqayribat, in the eastern part of the

Salamiyah District Salamiyah ( ar, سلمية ') is a district ( mantiqah) administratively belonging to Hama Governorate, Syria. At the 2004 Census it had a population of 187,123. Its administrative district is the city of Salamiyah. Sub-districts The district of ...

in Hama Governorate. The next day, a new batch of government reinforcements arrived for the offensive. Uqayribat had been used by ISIL as a launching pad for attacks on Salamiyah. On 3 June, Syrian and Russian warplanes carried out more than 30 air strikes ISIL positions. Heavy artillery and missiles were also used. During the morning of 5 June, the Syrian Arab Army, supported by the NDF, started an operation on a second axis against ISIL to the south of Sheikh Hilal. Before the ground attack, ISIL positions were hit by non-stop air strikes and artillery shelling. The next day, the Army captured two towns south-east of Sheikh Hilal. On 12 June, the Syrian Army sent

technicals Technicals may refer to: * Technical (vehicle), an improvised fighting vehicle often used in civil conflict * TECHNICALS, a clothing brand owned by Blacks Leisure Group See also * Technical (disambiguation) * Cambridge Technicals Cambridge Tech ...

, anti-aircraft guns and artillery pieces mounted on trucks to the area. Four days later, government forces restarted the offensive, capturing the large hilltop of Tal Dabbart Debah and then shifting their attention to the Aqareb Dam. During 18 June, the Army captured four villages north of Uqayribat, along the road between Ithriya and

Al-Saan Al-Sa'an ( ar, السعن, also spelled ''as-Si'in'' and also known as Sa'n al-Shajara) is a Syrian town located in the al-Sa'an Subdistrict in Salamiyah District, located in the Syrian Desert, 50 kilometers northeast of Salamiyah and northeast of ...

. On 13 July, Desert Hawks alongside NDF and Liwa al-Quds secured villages of Um Tuwaynah, al-Hardaneh and al-Qatshiyah, south of Salamiyah- Ithriyah road, thus securing the supply line to Aleppo city.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:East Hama offensive (2017) Conflicts in 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 June 2017 events in Syria Hama