Al-Qaryatayn, also spelled Karyatayn, Qaratin or Cariatein, is a town in central Syria, administratively part of the Homs Governorate located southeast of Homs. It is situated on an oasis in the Syrian Desert. Nearby localities include Tadmur (Palmyra) to the northeast, Furqlus to the north, al-Riqama and Dardaghan to the northwest, Mahin, Huwwarin and Sadad to the west, Qarah, Deir Atiyah and al-Nabk to the southwest and Jayrud to the south. Al-Qaryatayn translates as "the two villages".
Huwwarin is a village in central Syria, administratively part of the Homs Governorate, south of Homs. Situated in the Syrian Desert, the village is adjacent to the larger town of Mahin to its south and lies between the towns of Sadad to the west and al-Qaryatayn to the east. Its inhabitants are predominantly Muslims.
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 Palmyra offensive of July–August 2015 was a military operation launched during the Syrian Civil War by the Syrian Arab Army in July 2015, in an attempt to recapture the ISIL-held city of Tadmur, known in English as Palmyra.
The following is a timeline of the Syrian Civil War from January to July 2015. Information about aggregated casualty counts is found at Casualties of the Syrian Civil War.
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 Army of Free Syria or the Free Syria Army known as the Army of the Commandos of the Revolution from December 2016 to October 2022 and the New Syrian Army from May 2015 to December 2016, is a Syrian Opposition group which controls territory near the Syrian-Jordanian border. Founded by Syrian Arab Army defectors and other rebels during the Syrian Civil War on 20 May 2015, the New Syrian Army sought to expel the Islamic State from southeastern Syria. In December 2016, the New Syrian Army dissolved and the remnants of the group formed Maghawir al-Thawra.
In early 2014, the jihadist group Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant captured extensive territory in Western Iraq in the Anbar campaign, while counter-offensives against it were mounted in Syria. Raqqa in Syria became its headquarters. The Wall Street Journal estimated that eight million people lived under its control in the two countries.
This article contains a timeline of events from January 2015 to December 2015 related to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/ISIS). This article contains information about events committed by or on behalf of the Islamic State, as well as events performed by groups who oppose them.
The following is a timeline of the Syrian Civil War from January to April 2016. Information about aggregated casualty counts is found at Casualties of the Syrian Civil War.
The Deir ez-Zor offensive (2016) was an ISIL military operation, during which it took over the northern suburbs of Deir ez-Zor on 16 January 2016, and killed from 135 to 300 people, while also kidnapping about 400 others.
The Battle of al-Qaryatayn (2016) was a military operation launched by Syrian government forces, supported by Russian airstrikes, to recapture the mainly Christian town of Al-Qaryatayn from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. The town lies in a junction that connects the Iraqi border with Palmyra and from Palmyra through to Damascus; it fell to ISIL during the previous Battle of Al-Qaryatayn.
The Battle of the Shaer gas field was a battle between the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and the Syrian government for the control over the Sha'er gas field during the Syrian Civil War. It is the third attack that was launched by ISIL on the gas field.
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. ISIL previously controlled the city from May 2015 until March 2016.
The Palmyra offensive in 2017 was launched by the Syrian Arab Army against the armed forces of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in the Eastern Homs Governorate in January 2017, with the goal of recapturing Palmyra and its surrounding countryside. ISIL forces had retaken the city of Palmyra in a sudden offensive from 8 to 11 December, after previously being expelled from it by Syrian government and Russian forces in March 2016. On 2 March 2017, the Syrian Army alongside Russian reinforcement, succeeded again in recapturing the beleaguered city of Palmyra.
The following is a timeline of the Syrian Civil War from May to August 2017. Information about aggregated casualty counts is found at Casualties of the Syrian Civil War.
The Syrian Desert campaign was a large-scale military operation of the Syrian Army that initially started along the highway from Damascus to the border with Iraq against rebel forces during the Syrian Civil War. Its first intended goal was to capture both the highway and the al-Tanf border crossing, thus securing the Damascus countryside from a potential rebel attack. Later, multiple other fronts were opened as part of the operation throughout the desert, as well as operation "Grand Dawn" against ISIL with the aim of reopening the Damascus-Palmyra highway and preparing for an offensive towards Deir ez-Zor.
The following is a timeline of the Syrian Civil War from September to December 2017. Information about aggregated casualty counts is found at Casualties of the Syrian Civil War.
The Syrian Desert campaign is a campaign waged by Syrian government forces and their allies from Iran and Russia against the remaining forces of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in the Syrian Desert region.
Abu Hassan Al Khatami † 
Talal al-Barazi
