• Source: Deir ez-Zor offensive (2024)

      • In the days leading up to and during the 2024 Syrian opposition offensives, several military clashes involving ISIS cells, Syrian rebel forces, Syrian government forces, and US-led international coalition forces involving the United Kingdom, France, Jordan, Turkey, Canada, Australia, and others, occurred in Deir ez-Zor Governorate. These events prompted significant military responses from both Russian forces and Syrian government troops.
      On 3 December 2024, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), supported by the US-led CJTF–OIR coalition, launched an offensive on pro-government forces in the eastern Deir ez-Zor region.


      Background




      Clashes


      On 17 November 2024, ISIS cells killed a member of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and injured others at a security checkpoint.
      On 19 November, a United States Air Force strike on Iranian-aligned militia compounds in Al-Qoriya Desert, Deir ez-Zor Governorate, killed five militia troops. Additional operations targeted militia positions in Al-Quriyah, Mayadin, and Al-Asharah, following an Iranian missile impact near their Al-Shaddadi base in Al-Hasakah Governorate. Earlier in November, the US-led international coalition conducted four live-ammunition exercises at the Al-Omar Oil Field base, their largest Syrian installation, and another at the Al-Tanf base near the Syria-Iraq-Jordan border area.
      On 21 November, ISIS conducted an IED attack which killed two SDF fighters and injured 12 others in Deir Ezzor.
      On 23 November, ISIS cells ambushed a Syrian Arab Army (SAA) position in Al-Bushri desert, killing a lieutenant and soldier. ISIS cells also ambushed a position in the Al-Ma'ezalyah area of the Abu Kamal desert, killing two Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps troops and injuring two other soldiers.
      On 24 November, ISIS operatives attacked and killed two SDF fighters and severely injured one after detonating a road land mine in Ghariba Al-Sharqiya Village within the Al-Sawr district of northern Deir ez-Zor.
      On 25 November, ISIS operatives conducted two separate attacks in western Deir ez-Zor Governorate. The first incident involved ISIS members on motorcycles engaging in an armed confrontation with Al-Asayish Internal Security Forces along Al-Khorafy Road near Abu Khashab. While the encounter involved machine gun fire, no casualties were reported. In a separate incident on the same day, ISIS militants conducted a fatal attack near Al-Makman, resulting in the death of an oil tank driver.
      In response, Russian air forces executed multiple precision strikes against ISIS desert positions on 27 November 2024. These operations targeted specific locations including Al-Boshra Mountain in western Deir ez-Zor and positions within Al-Rasafa in the Al-Raqqa countryside. On the same day, gunmen of ISIS cells fired upon a SDF checkpoint located in Al-Hawayej Town with machine guns.
      On 28 November, ISIS operatives riding a motorcycle fired automatic weapons at the first brigade of the Self-Defense Forces in Al-Jurthi town, located in eastern Deir ez-Zor province, resulting in return fire with no known casualties. A US-led international coalition military exercise involving fighter jets took place at the United States military base at the Koniko gas field in northern Deir ez-Zor. These exercises generated notable acoustic signatures in the surrounding area due to the intensity of the operations.
      On 29 November, unidentified aircraft conducted precision strikes against positions associated with Iranian-aligned forces in the Ma'izila Desert region of Abu Kamal, situated along the Iraq–Syria border.
      Iranian-aligned militias significantly expanded their military presence and security operations in Abu Kamal amid heightened regional tensions and following U.S. military actions against militia positions in the region. The militias established new checkpoint systems at the city's entry and exit points, with increased patrol activities in secondary streets.
      Notable reinforcements arrived from several affiliated groups, including Hezbollah Iraq, the Popular Mobilization Forces, and the Fatemiyoun militia, concentrating their presence in the Al-Thalathaat region near the Iraq-Syria border. The deployed forces conducted nocturnal training exercises, including live-fire drills directed toward desert areas in preparation for potential military actions from forces stationed at the Al-Tanf base hosting international coalition forces. The reinforcements followed a 27 November U.S. Central Command precision strike against a militia weapons storage facility in Syria.


      = Russian withdrawal and SDF–Syrian Army clashes

      =
      On 30 November, Russian forces executed a coordinated withdrawal of military equipment and personnel from multiple headquarters across the Seven Villages area, relocating these assets to Deir ez-Zor city. The withdrawal encompassed positions in Al-Husseiniyah, Al-Salihiyah, Hatla, Marrat, Mazloum, Khasham, and Tabiyet Jazira, all situated on the eastern bank of the Euphrates. The withdrawal prompted strategic responses from multiple actors, including the SDF, which consolidated its forces in the industrial zones adjacent to the affected area. US-led international coalition forces, operating from Koniko Gas Field, conducted artillery operations targeting positions in Marrat and Khasham towns within the Seven Villages region.
      On 2 December, the General Security Directorate was able to arrest an ISIS emir in the town of Al-Izba, north of Deir ez-Zor. The emir was responsible for several recent bombings and assassinations in the town.


      = Deir ez-Zor offensive

      =
      On 3 December 2024, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), launched an offensive on pro-government forces near the towns of Khasham and Al-Salihiyah in the eastern Syrian province of Deir ez-Zor, and captured the village of Al-Hussainiyah. CJTF–OIR coalition aircraft provided support to the SDF, by targeting Iran-backed militias in the region. An SDF fighter and a civilian were killed in clashes with SAA. The SDF claimed to have captured the 7 villages under SAA control on the east bank of the Euphrates; Salhiya, Tabiya, Hatla, Khasham, Marat, Mazloum, and Husseiniya, and were incorporating them into the Deir ez-Zor Military Council. Hours later, SDF withdrew from the areas in which it advanced. A US airstrike killed six SAA soldiers near Deir ez-Zor airport.
      On 5 December, SDF captured the Thawra oil field, the town of Resafa and strategic locations near Safyan, and Anbaj areas, located in the Raqqa Governorate, following the withdrawal of pro-government forces.
      On 6 December, pro-government forces began withdrawing from the towns of Deir ez-Zor, Mayadin, Al-Quriyah and Abu Kamal, towards the capital Damascus. Shortly following their withdrawal, SDF fighters captured the city of Deir ez-Zor and extended their control all the way to Abu Kamal and the Iraqi border.
      On 9 December, anti-SDF protests erupted in Deir ez-Zor calling for the Syrian transitional government to take control over the city. On 10 December, the opposition announced the capture of Al-Bukamal. On 11 December, it came under the control of Tahrir al-Sham. Some SDF Military Council leaders defected to the Fateh Mubin operations room.
      On December 17, a SDF fighter was killed by ISIS attack in Deir Ezzor.
      On 17 December, a SDF fighter was killed and four others wounded by ISIS attack on checkpoint in Al-Raqqa.


      See also


      AANES–Syria relations
      Battle of Khasham
      Deir ez-Zor clashes (2023)
      Palmyra offensive (2024)
      YPG–FSA relations


      Notes




      References

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