The Deir ez-Zor offensive (2018) was launched by the

Islamic State 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 jihadism, Salafi jihadist organization and unrecognized quasi-state. IS ...

against government-held areas throughout the Deir ez-Zor Governorate of Eastern Syria. During the offensive, on 8 June, ISIL managed to penetrate the city of

Abu Kamal Abu Kamal (), also known as Al-Bukamal (), is a city in eastern Syria located on the Euphrates river in the Deir ez-Zor Governorate and near the border with Iraq. It is the administrative centre of the Abu Kamal District and the local subdistr ...

, capturing several parts of it.

The offensive

Initial attacks and assault on the highway

On 22 May 2018, ISIL launched an attack, involving suicide bombers and armored vehicles, on a military outpost southeast of Palmyra and near the T-3 Pumping Station. Pro-opposition sources reported between 26 and 30 pro-government fighters were killed, including 17 non-Syrians, while the military denied the high death toll and put the number of dead at 16 soldiers. The next day, ISIL attacked a joint Syrian-Russian military convoy near the city of

Mayadin Mayadin (/ALA-LC: ''al-Miyādīn'') is a town in eastern Syria. It is the capital of the Mayadin District, part of the Deir ez-Zor Governorate. Mayadin is about 44 kilometers southeast of Deir ez-Zor. The Euphrates River flows through the town ...

. The ensuing clashes left 26 pro-Syrian government fighters, 5 Russian PMCs and 4 Russian regular soldiers dead. Russia reported 43 militants were also killed. Concurrently to the convoy attack, ISIL assaulted three Syrian military checkpoints in the same area. Three days later, two new ISIL attacks took place near Mayadin and

. On 4 June, ISIL attacked government forces along a 100-kilometer front from Mayadin to Abu Kamal, capturing two or three towns on the western bank of the Euphrates. The militants attacked on two fronts, with ISIL fighters coming from both the desert, west of the Euphrates, and from their territory on the eastern bank of the river. A few days before the assault, around 400 ISIL fighters crossed the Euphrates from their enclave to the east following heavy shelling of government positions. The capture of the towns cut the Deir ez-Zor-Abu Kamal highway. The following day, pro-government forces recaptured the areas they had lost.

Attack on Abu Kamal

On 8 June, ISIL renewed its offensive and managed to break the Army's lines around Abu Kamal by using 10 suicide bombers, including several SVBIEDs. ISIL fighters managed to break into the city and fighting came close to the city center. The attack once again cut the highway. However, soon the Army launched a counter-attack and by the following day it was reported that the military managed to re-secure the city. During the fighting, the commander of the Syrian Army's 11th Tank Division, General Ali Muhammad al-Hussein, was killed in clashes on the outskirts of Abu Kamal. The commander of

Hezbollah Hezbollah ( ; , , ) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and paramilitary group. Hezbollah's paramilitary wing is the Jihad Council, and its political wing is the Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc party in the Lebanese Parliament. I ...

's Rocket Division was also killed. On 10 June, ISIL's offensive against Abu Kamal was still continuing, before the militants withdrew from the city on 11 June.

Aftermath

On 17 June, it was reported by

Al-Masdar News ''Al-Masdar News'' (sometimes abbreviated ''AMN'') () was an online newspaper founded by Leith Abou Fadel. Al-Masdar is Arabic for "the source". ''Al-Masdar''s coverage focuses largely on conflict zones in the Middle East: Syria, Yemen, and Ir ...

that ISIL launched a surprise attack on government forces around the T3 pumping station in the

Syrian Desert The Syrian Desert ( ''Bādiyat Ash-Shām''), also known as the North Arabian Desert, the Jordanian steppe, or the Badiya, is a region of desert, semi-desert, and steppe, covering about of West Asia, including parts of northern Saudi Arabia, ea ...

destroying one tank and killing several government soldiers. The next day, government reinforcements from the Republican Guard, National Defense Forces, and Liwa Fatemiyoun as well as additional Hezbollah fighters, were sent in preparation for a new military operation against ISIL in the region. On 18 June, the

Israeli Air Force The Israeli Air Force (IAF; , commonly known as , ''Kheil HaAvir'', "Air Corps") operates as the aerial and space warfare branch of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). It was founded on May 28, 1948, shortly after the Israeli Declaration of Indep ...

carried out an airstrike targeting the Iraqi

Popular Mobilization Forces The Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF; ), also known as the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), is an Iranian-backed paramilitary umbrella group that operates within Iraq. Although formally and legally part of the Iraqi Armed Forces and reportin ...

as well as Hezbollah and the

Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), also known as the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, is a multi-service primary branch of the Iranian Armed Forces. It was officially established by Ruhollah Khomeini as a military branch in May 1979 i ...

in the area, resulting in the death of 52. The airstrike was initially blamed on the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and the CJTF-OIR coalition by several Iranian-linked militias including PMF, but this was denied by both the United States and CJTF-OIR; it was later discovered that it was in fact carried out by

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

References

The offensive

Initial attacks and assault on the highway

Attack on Abu Kamal

Aftermath

See also

References