Palmyra offensive (December 2016)

Palmyra offensive (December 2016)
Part of the Syrian Civil War
Military intervention against ISIL
Russian military intervention in Syria

Map showing the territory captured by ISIL since 8 December 2016.
Date8–22 December 2016
(2 weeks)[4]
Location
Result

Partial ISIL victory

Belligerents
Islamic State Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant

Syria Syria
 Russia
 Iran[1]
Allied militias:
Liwa Fatemiyoun[1]
Liwa Zainebiyoun[1][2]
Kata'ib al-Imam Ali[1]
Hezbollah[3]


CJTF–OIR
Commanders and leaders
Islamic State "al-Mukahal" Amr As'ad [14]
(Leading ISIL commander for Palmyra operations)
Islamic State Abu Jandal al-Kuwaiti[15]
(ISIL senior commander, redeployed to Raqqa front after 11 December)
Islamic State Abu Hafs al-Mashrifi[16]
(ISIL Security Chief in Homs)
Islamic State Umar As'ad [17][18]
(ISIL top commander)
Col. Ali Shaheen[19]
(leading operations commander 10–11 December)
Maj. Gen. Suheil al-Hassan[20]
(leading operations commander since 14 December)
Maj. Gen. Shawkat[19]
(Desert Commandos commander)
Brig. Gen. Hussein Khader [21][22]
Malek Shafiq Omar [23]
(Qalamoun Shield commander)
Russia Maj. Sanal Sanchirov [24]
(Air Assault battalion commander)
Iran Brig. Gen. Hassan Akbari [1][25]
(IRGC Ground Forces commander)
Units involved
Islamic State Military of ISIL

Syrian Armed Forces

Russian Armed Forces

Iran Iranian Armed Forces

Liwa Fatemiyoun

  • Hazrat-e Abolfazl Brigade[1]

Hezbollah

  • Radwan Forces[33]
  • Syrian Hezbollah units
Strength
Islamic State 4,000–5,000 militants[27]

3,000+ fighters[19] (by the beginning of the offensive)

  • c. 1,800–2,500 Military Shield and Al-Badiyah fighters[19]
  • c. 1,200 Liwa Fatemiyoun fighters[19]
  • 150–250 Tiger Forces soldiers[19]

Unknown number of reinforcements

  • 100+ Hezbollah fighters[3] (since 14 December)
Casualties and losses
Islamic State 149 killed (per The Inside Source)[34]
630 killed (pro-government claims)[35][36][37][38]
100 killed, 200 wounded and 30 missing (per the Army)[36]
182 killed (per SOHR)[39][40]
352 killed, 22 captured (pro-ISIL claim)[41]

The Palmyra offensive in December 2016 was a military operation launched by the military of ISIL which led to the re-capture of the ancient city of Palmyra, and an unsuccessful ISIL attack on the Tiyas T-4 Airbase to the west of the city.[5][35] ISIL previously controlled the city from May 2015 until March 2016.

The unexpected blitz offensive occurred concurrently with three major anti-ISIL offensives: the Turkish Western al-Bab offensive and Battle of al-Bab north of Aleppo, the Kurdish-Arab Raqqa campaign, and the Iraqi Battle of Mosul in Iraq, which saw all three gaining ground from the Islamic State.

In January 2017, the Syrian Army and allied forces launched another offensive to recapture Palmyra and its surrounding areas.

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Amir Toumaj (15 December 2016). "IRGC officers killed in Palmyra". Long War Journal. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
  2. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 9 October 2017. Retrieved 7 January 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. ^ a b "Hezbollah reinforcements pour into Palmyra countryside". Al-Masdar News. 16 December 2016. Archived from the original on 12 October 2020. Retrieved 16 December 2016.
  4. ^ a b "Syrian Army foils major ISIS attack on T4 Military Airport in Homs". ARA News. Archived from the original on 24 December 2016. Retrieved 14 January 2017.
  5. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference 11Dec2016capture was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference SOHRInkhel was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference vicinitySOHR was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ قوات النظام تتقدم نحو الحقول النفطية في شرق حمص في اليوم السادس من تقدمها بعد أسابيع من الفشل في استعادة ما خسرته لصالح تنظيم "الدولة الإسلامية"
  9. ^ "Syrian Army makes massive advances against ISIS in west Palmyra". Archived from the original on 7 February 2017. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
  10. ^ "Syrian War Update – Palmyra Front (February 3, 2017): Pro-Government Breakthrough, Jihar Liberated". Archived from the original on 5 February 2017. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
  11. ^ "Large Syrian Army attack pays off as ISIS loses several sites in western Palmyra". Archived from the original on 20 May 2017. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
  12. ^ "Syrian Army liberates Hayyan Gas Fields in west Palmyra". Archived from the original on 20 May 2017. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
  13. ^ "Field Report: Syrian Army overruns ISIS in east Homs [+Map]". Archived from the original on 20 May 2017. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
  14. ^ Haytham Mustafa (17 December 2016). "American airstrike kills ISIS commander near Palmyra". ARA News. Archived from the original on 25 December 2016. Retrieved 23 December 2016.
  15. ^ "ISIS 'war committee' member killed in airstrike near Raqqa". Rudaw. 29 December 2016. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
  16. ^ "Isis security chief in Homs province among several killed in latest Syrian air force strikes". IB Times. 12 January 2017.
  17. ^ Cite error: The named reference Hadath was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  18. ^ Fadel, Leith (17 December 2016). "Top ISIS official killed near Palmyra". Al-Masdar News. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
  19. ^ a b c d e f g h Yakovlev, Ivan (20 December 2016). "The fall of Palmyra: Chronology of the events". Al-Masdar News. Archived from the original on 22 December 2016. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
  20. ^ The tiger reach Homs countryside to lead military operations against IS
  21. ^ "Two pilot officers killed, one of them is a "brigadier"". SOHR. 20 December 2016. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
  22. ^ "ISIS has killed Brigadier General Hussein Khader at Tiyas Airbase". Retrieved 20 December 2016.
  23. ^ Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi (17 January 2017). "Quwat Dir' Al-Qalamoun: Shifting Militia Links". Syria Comment. Retrieved 10 September 2017.
  24. ^ a b "Major Sanchirov from Kalmykia were killed in Syria during the defense of Palmyra from the militants". Last news from Russia. 20 December 2016. Archived from the original on 3 August 2017. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
  25. ^ "IS kills an Iranian commander in Tadmur". SOHR. 15 December 2016. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
  26. ^ a b c d Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi (24 December 2016). "The Fifth Legion: A New Auxiliary Force". Syria Comment. Retrieved 25 December 2016.
  27. ^ a b c d e Tomson, Chris (11 December 2016). "ISIS fully retakes Palmyra in stunning blitz offensive – Map update". al-Masdar News. Archived from the original on 11 December 2016. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
  28. ^ Fadel, Leith (16 December 2016). "Elite Syrian Army unit parachutes into Palmyra countryside". al-Masdar News. Archived from the original on 2 May 2019. Retrieved 16 December 2016.
  29. ^ Tomson, Chris (12 December 2016). "Reinforcements arrive near Palmyra as Syrian Army regroups for counter-offensive (Photos)". al-Masdar News. Archived from the original on 7 May 2019. Retrieved 12 December 2016.
  30. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference first wave was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  31. ^ Fadel, Leith (13 December 2016). "Reinforcements pour into Palmyra countryside as Syrian Army attempts to push back ISIS". Al-Masdar News. Archived from the original on 2 October 2018. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
  32. ^ Yakovlev, Ivan (11 December 2016). "Syrian Army counterattacks on Palmyra outskirts in order to secure the city". Archived from the original on 18 October 2017. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
  33. ^ a b Albin Szakola (16 December 2016). "Hezbollah deploys to Palmyra front: report". NOW. Archived from the original on 8 October 2018. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  34. ^ "The Inside Source on Twitter".
  35. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Firstattack was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  36. ^ a b Yakovlev, Ivan (10 December 2016). "Battle of eastern Homs continues as ISIS keeps attacking: map update". Al-Masdar News. Archived from the original on 11 December 2016. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
  37. ^ Cite error: The named reference driveout was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  38. ^ Fadel, Leith (26 December 2016). "Syrian Army kills scores of ISIS terrorists at strategic airport in west Palmyra". Al-Masdar News. Archived from the original on 2 October 2018. Retrieved 26 December 2016.
  39. ^ "تنظيم "الدولة الإسلامية" يستعيد ضاحية العامرية بأطراف مدينة تدمر ويكبِّد النظام أكثر من 120 قتيل وعشرات الجرحى". SOHR. 11 December 2016. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
  40. ^ "62 soldiers killed by clashes around the T4 military airport". SOHR. 24 December 2016. Retrieved 24 December 2016.
  41. ^ Thomas Joscelyn (13 December 2016). "Jihadis celebrate capture of Russian base in Palmyra, Syria". Long War Journal. Retrieved 14 December 2016.