Palmyra offensive (March 2016)

Palmyra offensive (March 2016)
Part of the Syrian Civil War and the
Russian military intervention in the Syrian Civil War

Map showing areas captured by 26 March
Date9–27 March 2016
(2 weeks and 4 days)
LocationTadmur District, Eastern Homs Governorate, Syria
Result

Decisive Syrian Army victory

  • Syrian Army captures Palmyra city and its area[1][2][3]
Belligerents

Syria Syrian Arab Republic

 Russia

Shi'ite militias

 Iran

Hezbollah[13]
Ba'ath Brigades[14]		 Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
Commanders and leaders
Major General Suheil al-Hassan[15]
(operations chief commander)
Ali Rahmoun †[16][17]
(Syrian Marines commander)
Colonel Ali Shaheen[18]
(Panther Forces Brigade commander)
Colonel Shadi Isma’el[18]
(Cheetah Forces commander)[19]
Suleiman al-Shwakh[20]
(Desert Commandos commander)
"The Uncle" Abu Ismail[21]
(Military Security Shield Forces commander)
Lt. Gen. Aleksandr Zhuravlev[22]
(leading Russian commander)
Sen. Lt. Alexander Prokhorenko †[23]
(Spetsnaz commander)		 Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant Sultan bin 'Abdel-Rahman †[24]
(Emir of Palmyra)
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant Khalil Mohameed †[25]
(Emir of Palmyra)
Units involved

Syrian Armed Forces

Hezbollah

  • National Ideological Resistance[30]
 Military of ISIL
Strength
6,000+[29] 2,000+ (per Syrian Army)
Casualties and losses
195 killed[31][32] (2+ Russians, 1 Iranian)[32][33][7] 417 killed (per SOHR)[31]
450 killed (per Syrian Army)[34]
500+ killed (per Russia; 20–27 March)[35]
Civil uprising
in Syria (March–August 2011)
Start of insurgency (September 2011 – April 2012)
Cease-fire and civil war (May 2012 – December 2013)
Rise of the Islamists (January–September 2014)
United States-led intervention (September 2014 – September 2015)
Russian intervention (September 2015 – March 2016)
Aleppo escalation and Turkish intervention (March 2016–present)

The Palmyra offensive (March 2016) was a military operation started by the Syrian Arab Army, supported by Russian airstrikes,[36] in a bid to recapture from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant the Syrian city of Tadmur (near the ruins of the ancient city of Palmyra), which was strategically important for both forces due to its position in central Syria.[37] The city was recaptured on 27 March.

Offensive

Battle for the hills

On 9 March 2016, heavy Russian airstrikes started hitting the Palmyra area, with 32 ISIL fighters reported killed by the next day.[38] As of 14 March 80 airstrikes and 200 rockets and artillery shells had hit the city.[39] The Syrian Arab Army's Central Command stated their next aim after eventually capturing Palmyra would be Deir ez-Zor.[40]

Major ground fighting started on 12 March, when the Syrian Army attacked the village of Al-Dawah, west of Palmyra,[26] while the next day they assaulted Jabal Qassoun mountain, where Palmyra Castle is located.[41] In all, the military's attack was directed against three flanks of Palmyra in an attempt to surround the city.[42] In preparation for the offensive, ISIL built strong defenses in the city and trenches around it.[43]

On 14 March, the military captured Hill 800 and Hill 853, which are part of Jabal Hayyan mountain, southwest of Palmyra,[8][44] while the ISIL emir of the city, Khalil Mohameed, was reportedly killed when a rocket hit his headquarters.[25]

On 15 March, government forces fully secured Jabal Hayyan mountain,[45] after capturing Hill 900.[43] The advance brought the military to within four kilometers west and south of Palmyra.[46] Elsewhere, fighting continued in Al-Dawah, while Army units were also attempting to advance towards the Brigade 550 Base.[26] Meanwhile, Russian airstrikes on the road between Palmyra and Al-Sukhnah left 26 people dead.[47]

Desert Hawks Brigade militiamen outside of Palmyra with an improvised MLRS.

On 17 March, ISIL took advantage of a sandstorm and launched a counter-attack[43] against Point 939 and the Jabal Hayyan mountain, though the Army repelled the assault.[13] Later that day, Syrian Marines from the Latakia Governorate and Hezbollah fighters were sent as reinforcements to Palmyra to strengthen the government forces for the assault on the city.[9] ISIL also sent reinforcements.[43] The same day, a Russian Spetsnaz commander, Alexander Prokhorenko, was killed when he ordered an airstrike on himself after being surrounded by ISIL fighters. Prokhorenko's death garnered international media attention.[23]

The following day, the SAA seized the Tal Mattar hilltop, close to the Palmyra Castle,[48] after which they continued to advance, capturing Tal Areen hill.[49] Concurrently with the Syrian Army ground offensive, Russia was conducting 20–25 airstrikes daily on ISIL positions in and around Palmyra. A Turkey-based activist, originally from Palmyra, speculated that the military could take the city within days if it kept up the momentum it had achieved.[43] ISIL claimed to have killed six Syrian soldiers, five Russian soldiers and several Hezbollah fighters in the defense of Qasr al-Halabat west of Palmyra. An ISIL website released a video showing the body of a man in military gear, described as a Russian military advisor, with equipment including a customised AK-74M rifle, a helmet, a compass and a pack of bandages with instructions written in Russian.[50] The body, however, is possibly one of the few ethnic-Russian PMC's from "Wagner" killed or reported missing around the Palymra suburbs. On March 17, PMC Vadim Tumakov was confirmed killed by fighting in Palymra.[7][6]

On 20 March, the SAA captured two hills overlooking the Ithriyah–Palmyra highway, cutting off of one of ISIL's main supply routes to the city.[51] The next day, the SAA made more advances,[52] as they assaulted the Jabal Al-Tar hilltop.[53] 26 Syrian Marines, including their commander Ali Rahmoun, were killed during the day's clashes.[16] 17 of the Marines died as a result of a friendly fire accident when they were hit with a Russian missile. Another 26 were wounded.[17] Meanwhile, IRGC advisors and Liwa Fatemiyoun units arrived as another wave of pro-government reinforcements.[10]

On 21 March, a large convoy of reinforcements from the NDF units of Fouj Al-Joulan and Liwaa Suqour Al-Quneitra arrived at the western countryside of Palmyra, raising the number of pro-government forces in the area to more than 6,000.[29] The next evening, government advances continued with the support of 50 airstrikes[54] and the Army seized the Palmyra Triangle road junction.[55][56][57] Subsequently, around 120 explosives were cleared from the Triangle area.[58]

As of 23 March, the military was within one or two kilometers of the city on the south side and five kilometers on the west side,[58][59] as they reached the outskirts of Palmyra,[60] after seizing the al-Hayal mountain range,[61] including its hills that overlook the town.[62] A soldier stated on state TV that they expected to capture the city within hours.[58]

Close-quarters fighting

Syrian Army soldiers after the battle.

The following day, the Army was one kilometer from the town and facing stiff resistance as it tried to penetrate the city limits.[63] They attacked the strategic Semiramis Hotel, on the outskirts of Palmyra, approaching to within 70 meters of the hotel.[64] Fighting also reached the edge of the southwestern al-Gharf neighbourhood. As the clashes raged, ISIL urged civilians through loudspeakers to leave the city.[65] The governor of Homs province speculated the military would capture Palmyra within 48 hours.[63] In the afternoon, government forces managed to fully capture the Semiramis Hotel,[66] as well as Muhtar Mount, Al-Zera'a roundabout, Al-Tar Mountain, the Tombs Valley and the Mozeh Palace,[67][68] a luxury villa which ISIL used as a headquarters[69] and previously belonged to the House of Thani (the Qatari Royal family).[32] In the evening, the Army entered the first houses in the southwestern part of Palmyra.[68]

On the morning of 25 March, pro-government forces took control of several hilltops on the western and northwestern side of Palmyra, including near Palmyra Castle.[70] Later that day, the castle itself was captured,[71][72][73] as well as reportedly the Brigade 550 Base.[74] Government forces were also reported to have reached the Palmyra Prison, after seizing most of the Palmyra Orchards[75] and the city's airbase.[76] Fighting also raged at the archaeological sites where government force's progress was slow due to the lack of artillery support for the sake of protecting the ruins.[77] At this point, ISIL forces started withdrawing their equipment from Palmyra and planting land mines.[71]

On 26 March, state TV reported the military captured three neighborhoods inside Palmyra,[78] including the northern district of Al-Amiriya, as well as the neighborhoods of Mutaqa'ideen and Al-Jami'a.[79] The opposition activist group the SOHR confirmed the capture of Al-Amiriya,[80] but stated the other two neighborhoods were still being contested, with ISIL conducting counter-attacks with car-bombs against advancing government forces.[81] Most apartment blocks in the city's residential area were damaged by the fighting and several had completely collapsed.[82] Later, SOHR confirmed the capture of Mutaqa'ideen and Al-Jami'a[83] and reported government troops secured 35% of the city, while ISIL fighters were retreating towards the Al-Sukhnah area, east of Palmyra.[84][85][86]

On the dawn of 27 March, the city was fully captured by the SAA after ISIL defenses collapsed.[1][3] Sporadic fighting continued in the eastern outskirts of Palmyra between government forces and ISIL fighters who refused to retreat,[87] concentrated at the prison and the airbase.[88] However, most of ISIL's forces had withdrawn to the east.[89] Later in the day, the prison and the airbase were captured as the remaining 30 ISIL militants fought to the death.[90]

Aftermath

After the liberation of the city, a Russian military convoy, including armored personnel carriers, arrived to help in the process of clearing Palmyra of explosives left by retreating ISIL forces. Meanwhile, a mass grave containing the bodies of 24 civilians and 18 soldiers was discovered. In all, at least 280 people are believed to had been executed by ISIL during its control of the town.[91] Overall, between 29 March and 30 April, Russian and Syrian explosive-disposal teams removed 4,000 explosive devices in the ruins and another 1,000 in the town.[92]

On 5 May, the Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra and Sergei Roldugin performed at the Roman amphitheatre of Palmyra in a highly publicized event.[93]

Gallery

Reactions

References

  1. 1 2 Associated Press (27 March 2016). "Syrian forces retake historic city of Palmyra from Islamic State". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
  2. ↑ khaled. "بعد معارك استمرت لـ 3 أسابيع قوات النظام تستعيد السيطرة على كامل مدينة تدمر وخسائر بشرية فادحة في صفوف تنظيم "الدولة الإسلامية"". المرصد السورى لحقوق الإنسان. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
  3. 1 2 Leith Fadel (27 March 2016). "Breaking: Syrian Armed Forces liberate Palmyra". Al-Masdar News. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
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  14. 1 2 Leith Fadel (9 March 2016). "Syrian Forces, Hezbollah mobilize for the largest desert offensive against ISIS". Al-Masdar News. Retrieved 27 September 2016.
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  33. ↑ US says Iran forces pulling back in Syria; others say no
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    Heavy Russian Airstrikes as Syrian Army Fights IS in Palmyra
    The ancient city of Palymyra could be restored in 5 years
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  68. 1 2 suliman. "معارك عنيفة ومتواصلة تشهدها أطراف ومشارف مدينة تدمر بريف حمص الشرقي وقوات النظام تواصل محاولاتها استعادة السيطرة على المدينة". المرصد السورى لحقوق الإنسان.
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  71. 1 2 "Syrian Army Said to Be Closer to Retaking Palmyra". The New York Times. 26 March 2016.
  72. ↑ Dominic Evans and Andrea Shalal (25 March 2016). "Islamic State under siege in Palmyra, militant leader killed". Reuters.
  73. ↑ Zen Adra (25 March 2016). "Field Report: Syrian Army retakes Palmyra Castle. Map Update". Al-Masdar News.
  74. ↑ Leith Fadel (25 March 2016). "ISIS in disarray as the Syrian Army, Hezbollah liberate Brigade 550 in northern Palmyra". Al-Masdar News.
  75. ↑ Leith Fadel (25 March 2016). "Syrian Army, Hezbollah officially enter Palmyra City". Al-Masdar News.
  76. ↑ Leith Fadel (26 March 2016). "Battle for Palmyra enters critical stage as the Syrian Army advances inside the city". Al-Masdar News.
  77. ↑ Los Angeles Times (25 March 2016). "The battle for Palmyra will reveal how much damage was done to Syria's priceless relics". latimes.com.
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  92. ↑ How 100 Syrians, 200 Russians and 11 dogs out-witted ISIS and saved Palmyra
  93. ↑ "A Russian orchestra plays Bach and Prokofiev in the ruins of Palmyra". The Economist. 6 May 2016. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
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