The Fight to Capture Deir Ezzor

Deir Ezzor is one of the last main strongholds of the Islamic State (IS) and there are currently two separate offensives seeking to capture the city.

On the eastern side of the Euphrates River, the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have launched an offensive on Saturday to capture IS territory.

On the other side of the river, the Syrian Arab Army (SAA), the Russian and Iranian military and Hezbollah are working in conjunction to take back Deir Ezzor from IS.

Deir Ezzor is a strategic city because of its oil-rich territory and also because it shares a border with Iraq allowing IS fighters to travel between the two countries. If the anti-IS forces are able to take back Deir Ezzor, it will leave Islamic State terrorists effectively trapped in the heart of Syria in their only remaining stronghold of Raqqa.

While both groups seek to defeat the Islamic State, they are obviously mindful that whoever controls more of the province once it is recaptured will control access to substantial Syrian oil wealth.

On Saturday, the SAA successfully recaptured  Deir Ezzor Military Airport which is south of the city. This airport has been under IS control for almost a year.

Now that it is under the control of the military, it will become the army’s most well-fortified operating base in the eastern countryside and it will serve as a base to expand military operations in the region.

Also over the weekend the SAA captured the Damascus-Deir Ezzor highway after clashes. On Monday they liberated most parts of the Thardeh Mountains which overlook the city of Deir Ezzor.

On Sunday, the SDF and the Deir Ezzor Military Council (DMC), which was created in order to facilitate and conduct military operations, captured the Deir Ezzor industrial zone, the 113^th air defense airbase, Bi`r Hisyan and other nearby points. Since the US-led offensive began last week, more than 250 square kilometers have been taken from IS by SDF. The SDF and DMC have already started creating the groundwork for forming a “civil council” to rule the city after its expected recapture.

ISIS is collapsing under the impact of ground attacks launched by different parties on multiple fronts in Iraq and Syria. It has already lost 85% of its territory in Syria and 90% in Iraq. In the past months, IS has lost its capital of Mosul in Iraq, Tel Afar, and most of its capital of Raqqa in Syria.

Islamic State control remains in few locations in Syria, specifically in Deir Ezzor, and small locations in the city of Raqqa, the eastern countryside of Homs province, and the southern part of Daraa province.

While the two offensives are both working to free Deir Ezzor and the surrounding areas from IS, there is no cooperation between the two groups. The Syrian Army has stated that they have no intention of crossing the Euphrates River and the SDF has said that while they don’t expect clashes, they will respond if attacked by the SAA.

There have been past conflicts between the two, most recently in Raqqa, where SDF forces reportedly shelled SAA soldiers according to Al Masdar news, an outlet viewed as close to the Syrian government.  Another incident involved U.S. aircraft shooting two Iranian-made drones believed to be targeting coalition forces in June. The U.S. also downed a Syrian fighter jet after it launched a strike against U.S. backed forces. While both groups claim they don’t plan on attacking each other in Deir Ezzor, these past conflicts show that clashes may occur in the near future.