Abu Mohammad al-Jawlani (Nusra leader)[10] Abou Hammam as-Suri (Nusra general military commander)[10] Abdullah al-Muhsini (senior Nusra commander)[10] Yusef al-Hassan[11]
The 2014 Hama offensive, codenamed Ghazwat Badr al-Sham al-Kubra,[8] was a military operation launched by Syrian rebels during the Syrian Civil War in the northern parts of Hama Governorate, in an attempt to reach the Hama Military Airport and the provincial capital of the province. It was also launched in an attempt to cut the supply line to Aleppo, especially after the rebels seized the village of Rahjan.[5]
Although the offensive was initially met with success, the Army quickly launched a counter-offensive on 26 August, resulting in the recapture of all territory lost to the rebels since 26 July and the takeover of new territory previously held by the rebels.
Rebel offensive
On 26 July, the rebels in Hama province captured the town of Khitab, Rahbeh village, Khitab arms depots and army base.[19] The next day, clashes continued between pro-government forces and rebels in the western sides of Qamhana town[20] and in the villages of al-Sher and al-Majdal in the western countryside of Hama near Maharda.[21] On 28 July, rebels killed six soldiers and captured the "Btesh" checkpoint in Tarabih,[22] located nine kilometers north of Hama military airport. During their advance, the rebels began striking the airport with Grad missiles. Meanwhile, new Army reinforcements arrived in the area.[5] As the rebels advanced, they were able to cut off the road linking Hama city to a string of government-controlled Christian and Alawite villages in the west of the province.[11]
On 29 July, government forces recaptured Salba and Tall Mallah on the Hama–Suqaylabiyah road.[23]
On 9 August, a pro-government source claimed that the Army thwarted a rebel attack on a garrison in Mhardeh.[24] On 13 August, according to the pro-opposition SOHR, rebels recaptured the southwestern part of the town of Mork, while the Army began retreating to the outskirts of the town.[2] However, fighting continued in the town the next day.[25]
At the same time, rebels captured the Tall al-Sheyha and the village of Arzeh, killing at least 12 soldiers,[26][27] and placing themselves within 3–4km of Hama Military Airport.[28] According to the SOHR, the rebels lost six fighters that day.[29] They lost another five fighters (including a battalion commander) the next day. On 16 August, rebels captured the al-Madajin checkpoint, while they were forced to retreat from al-Shayha village and Tall al-Sheyha due to heavy bombardments on the region. The rebels managed to recapture the hill later that day, destroying a tank in the progress. All five crew members were reportedly killed.[30]
On 18 August, a Syrian fighter jet was shot down by rebels near the Hama airport. The pilot was reportedly killed in the act.[31] Rebels tried to enter the village of Qbayyat during the night, resulting in heavy clashes with pro-government fighters and soldiers.[14]
Army counter-attack
The next day, Syrian forces regained control over the village of Um Hurayzah in the eastern countryside of Hama, while they also managed to advance towards Arze village.[14] Seven rebels were killed during the day.[32] On 20 August, the Army made new gains near the city of Halfaya, while two rebel commanders were killed during the day.[33]
Rebels capture Halfaya
On 22 August, a rebel brigade commander was killed near the village of al-Shiha, while the Al-Nusra Front sent reinforcements (consisting of two convoys) from Aleppo to the south of Halfaya city.[34] The next day, new reinforcements from Al-Nusra Front arrived near Mhardeh city and in the Halfaya area in preparations for the start of the battle for Mhardeh.[35]
On 23 August, a rebel attack on the Mhardeh power station was repelled.[13] The next day, rebel forces, primarily composed of Al-Nusra fighters, captured the city of Halfaya.[36] On 25 August, government troops recaptured the "Btesh" checkpoint but had to abandon it once again due to heavy rebel shelling.[13]
New Army counter-attack
At this point, no less than 1,500 fighters from the Al-Nusra Front grouped in Halfaya and around Mhardeh,[17] with the assault force personally led by the group's leader Abu Mohammad al-Jawlani. According to a source within Nusra, the Free Syrian Army rejected the idea of storming the Christian majority city of Mhardeh and hence the large number of reinforcements brought from Aleppo. Before the assault, al-Jawlani gave a speech to his fighters to boost morale.[10] At the same time, military special forces reinforcements, known as the "Tiger Forces", arrived from Aleppo province, along with their commander, Col. Soheil Al-Hassan.[15]
On 26 August, the rebel attack on Mhardeh was launched and fighting raged for the numerous checkpoints defending the city.[10] The same day, Army units captured rebel positions near the village of Shar'aya,[17] as well as the village itself.[37]
On 27 August, rebels captured a number of soldiers near Arzeh,[38] while fighting in the village itself was renewed later in the day.[39]
On 28 August, the Army captured Tall al-Sheyha hill and advanced in Bateesh, Arzeh and Khitab. The rebels used the hill to bombard the airport in previous days.[37][40] Later in the day, the "Btesh" checkpoint was once again reported to be government-held but coming under rebel fire.[41] By this point, the rebel attack on Mhardeh was seen as to have failed following the military counterattack during which government troops recaptured checkpoints along the road leading to Halfaya.[3]
Two days later, the pro-government Al-Masdar News site reported the NDF forces, supported by the reinforcements, repelled a rebel infiltration attempt near the Mhardeh power plant.[42]
On 7 September, the Army recaptured Arzeh,[43] while 17 rebels (including a commander) were killed in fighting along the frontline.[44]Al-Masdar News also claimed the Army recaptured Deir Hamra, near the airport.[45] The next day, rebels captured the Seher Hill checkpoint, while Army units advanced in the Sen Seher - Zor al Qse’eyyi area[46] and the village of Zor Bel Hsein.[47]
On 9 September, the Army recaptured Khitab, Zor Bel Hsein, Zor al Masaleq, Zor al Jdid and Kherbet al Hjame,[48][49] and the Rahbat Khitab military base,[50] while according to Al-Masdar News, Army and NDF units also seized the villages of Al-Samama and Qamaha and two neighborhoods in Halfaya.[51] An al-Nusra Front commander was killed near Halfaya during the day's fighting.[52] With government troops regaining control of these villages and the rebels pushed back, Hama military airport was no longer threatened.[53]
The next day, Syrian and Iranian forces recaptured the southern part of Halfaya city,[9] the "Btesh" checkpoint and the farmlands of Btesh.[54] On 11 September, the military made further advances in Halfaya[55] leaving a large part of the area under government control.[56] In the evening, the Army secured Halfaya.[57][58][59]
On 13 September, government troops captured a further three towns in Hama province, including Taibet al-Imam, Lweibdah and Zour Abo Zaid, and inflicted "gross losses" among opposition fighters,[60] just two days after they fully recaptured Halfaya.[61] In addition, on 15 September, the Army seized captured Zalaqiyat, and the next day, seized Jadidah,[62] Jalma, Tall Melh, Kafr Hawad and Tremseh.[63][64][65] Thus, government forces reached the outskirts of the rebel stronghold of Al-Lataminah.[62]
On 17 September, the rebels recaptured Tall Melh, Zalaqiyat[66] Tremseh[67] and Jalma after they infiltrated the villages. During the fighting, 28 soldiers were killed. The military also reportedly managed to seize the southwest entrance of Al-Lataminah.[68] Over the next two days, government troops regained control of Tall Melh,[69] Tremseh and Jalma[67] after killing at least 29 rebel fighters. They then proceeded to fortify Tall Melh, Jadidah and Abu Zaher against any further infiltration.[68]
On 19 September, the Army also captured the villages of Abu Redeh and Hasraya.[70][71] The day before, a rebel media activist declared the rebel offensive that started in late July to be over.[72]
Aftermath – Army capture of Mork
On 30 September, the Army captured the villages of al-Buwaydah and al-Masasnah.[73][74][75] According to a military source, over 25 Al-Nusra militants were killed in the fighting, including an aide of Abu Mohammad Al-Jolani.[76]
On 6 October, the Army captured Al-Jabin, as well as two other towns.[77][78][79]
On 23 October, government forces took back total control of the strategically important city Mork, nine months after it was seized by rebels and their al-Qaeda allies.[80] The same day, the Syrian army captured Tal Itmeen after clashes with rebels who were retreating from Mork.[81] One week later, the SAA also captured Tall Sayid, northeast of Kafr Zita.[82]
On 4 November, SAA took control of Qabr Farat and Al-Kareem near the border of Idlib.[83]
Strategic analysis
The rebel offensive forced government forces to step up their troop presence in the area, which would limit the Army's capabilities in other areas, such as Aleppo, according to a rebel commander. The aim of the rebel offensive was to capture the military airport and stop the Air force from manufacturing barrel bombs, which were being manufactured at the base and used for many months to strike opposition-controlled areas across Syria.[5]
The 2014 Idlib offensive was a series of operations conducted by the rebels against the Syrian Government in the Idlib Governorate during the Syrian Civil War. The clashes were mostly concentrated around Khan Shaykhun and on the highway towards Maarrat al-Nu'man.
The following is a timeline of the Syrian civil war from August to December 2014. Information about aggregated casualty counts is found at Casualties of the Syrian Civil War.
The siege of Wadi Deif refers to the siege of two Syrian Army bases, Wadi Deif and Hamadiyah, by rebel forces, during the 2014 Idlib offensive of the Syrian Civil War. The first siege of these two bases was broken by the Syrian Army on 18 April 2013. During the siege, rebels detonated several 'tunnel bombs' underneath army positions surrounding the bases, which was similar to the tactics used during the First World War.
The 2014 raid on Idlib city refers to a military operation in the Idlib Governorate, during the Syrian Civil War, conducted by mainly Salafi jihadists backed by Islamist rebels against the Syrian Government.
The Battle of Al-Shaykh Maskin was a military engagement during the Syrian civil war in the Daraa Governorate, where Syrian government forces attempted to capture Al-Shaykh Maskin to secure the Daraa–Damascus highway. Two days later, rebel forces launched two joint offensives, code-named "Edkholo Alayhem al-Bab" and "Hadm al-Jedar", to take control of Al-Shaykh Maskin and the nearby town of Nawa.
The Daraa offensive , was a rebel offensive launched in Daraa Governorate during the Syrian civil war, in an attempt to capture the remaining Army positions in Shaykh Maskin, and thus secure the Daraa–Damascus highway, and other positions in Daraa province.
The 2015 Idlib offensive refers to a series of rebel operations in the Idlib Governorate, during the Syrian Civil War. The offensive started with a rebel assault on the capital of the province, Idlib. According to The Economist, the capture of Idlib came about largely because Gulf Arab states "gave more backing to their proxies despite American objections."
The northwestern Syria offensive , dubbed by the rebels as the Battle of Victory, took place in the Idlib and Hama governorates during the Syrian Civil War.
The Palmyra offensive of May 2015 was a military operation launched during the Syrian Civil War by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) on May 13–26, 2015, in an attempt to capture the government-held Tadmur District of the Homs Governorate, including the administrative centre of Tadmur, known in English as Palmyra. The ruins and ancient monuments of Palmyra, which lie on the south-western fringe of the modern city, have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1980. The ruins were part of a desert oasis that was one of the most significant cultural centers of the ancient world, linking the civilizations of Persia, India, China with the Roman Empire through trade. The offensive was one of the largest offensives launched by ISIL, the largest one conducted by ISIL in Syria since the 2014 Eastern Syria offensive, with the result of the offensive increasing ISIL's control of Syria to at least 50%.
The Daraa offensive was a rebel operation in the Daraa Governorate, during the Syrian Civil War. It was led by the Southern Front of the Free Syrian Army and also included the Army of Conquest "southern sector", of which the Al-Qaeda-linked al-Nusra Front and Ahrar al-Sham are part of, against Syrian government forces defending Daraa city and the surrounding towns.
The al-Ghab offensive was an offensive launched by rebels during the Syrian Civil War to capture areas surrounding Jisr al-Shughur, and to establish a foothold in the al-Ghab plain, in northwestern Syria's Idlib and Hama governorates.
The siege of Abu al-Duhur Airbase was a battle for the Abu al-Duhur Military Airbase in the Idlib Governorate during the Syrian civil war. It was captured by the rebel and jihadist forces on 9 September 2015. The base had been besieged since September 2012.
The Aleppo offensive was a Syrian Army large-scale strategic offensive south of Aleppo. The main objective of the operation was to secure the Azzan Mountains, while also creating a larger buffer zone around the only highway to the provincial capital controlled by the Syrian government. A related objective was to establish favourable conditions for a planned offensive to isolate rebel forces in Aleppo City and to relieve the long-standing siege of a pro-government enclave in Aleppo Governorate.
The Homs offensive from November to December 2015 was launched by Syrian government forces during the Syrian Civil War in November 2015. The objective of the operation was to recapture territory lost to ISIL, in the eastern part of the Homs Governorate, during the fall of that year.
The 2015–2016 Latakia offensive was a campaign of the Syrian Civil War that was launched by government forces in October 2015 to recapture rebel-held territory in the Latakia Governorate bordering Turkey.
Following the Syrian Arab Army's successful Kuweires offensive, during the Syrian Civil War, which ended with the securing of the Kuweires Military Airbase on 16 November 2015, the Syrian Army launched a new offensive in the eastern countryside of the Aleppo Governorate, with the aim of expanding the buffer zone around the airbase and disrupting ISIL supply lines.
The Northern Aleppo offensive refers to a military operation launched northwest of Aleppo in early February 2016 by the Syrian Arab Army and its allies. The offensive successfully broke the three-year Siege of Nubl and Al-Zahraa, effectively cutting off the main supply route of the Syrian rebels from Turkey.
The 2016 Khanasir offensive was a military operation conducted by ISIL and Jund al-Aqsa, during the Syrian Civil War, with the aim of cutting the Syrian government's only supply route to the northern part of the Aleppo Governorate, which runs through the town of Khanasir.
The Northern Aleppo offensive was a series of military operations launched by Syrian opposition forces against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and vice versa in the northern Aleppo Governorate, near the Syria–Turkey border, the city of Azaz and the town of Mare'. The offensive is supported by airstrikes against ISIL conducted by the United States-led CJTF-OIR coalition and artillery shelling by the Turkish Armed Forces.
The 2016 Southern Aleppo campaign was a series of military operations that started on 1 April when the Islamist rebel coalition Army of Conquest, led by the al-Nusra Front, launched a surprise offensive south of Aleppo. The main objective of the operation was to recapture territory they had lost during the large-scale government offensive in late 2015.
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