Central Syria campaign

Central Syria campaign
	Part of the Battle of Deir ez-Zor and the; Russian military intervention in the Syrian civil war
	; Situation in central Syria, showing advancements of the Syrian Army
Date	14 July – 21 October 2017; (3 months and 1 week)
Location	Central Syria Southern Raqqa Governorate; Eastern and northern Homs Governorate; Eastern Hama Governorate; Deir ez-Zor, northwestern and southwestern Deir ez-Zor Governorate;
Result	Decisive Syrian Army & allies victory Syrian government forces capture 17,000 square kilometers of territory, including Al-Sukhnah; Syrian government forces cleared two separate pockets of ISIL forces in Central Syria and Eastern Hama; Syrian government forces lifted the siege of the western part of Deir ez-Zor city and Deir ez-Zor Airport; Syrian government's control of Syria increases to around 50% by the end of the offensive;
Belligerents
Syrian Arab Republic; Russia; Iran; Allied militias:; Hezbollah; PMF-affiliated militias; Syrian Resistance; Liwa Fatemiyoun; Al-Quds Brigade; Galilee Forces; Brigades of the Den	Islamic State Liwa al-Aqsa;
Commanders and leaders
Maj. Gen. Suheil al-Hassan; (Operations chief commander); Maj. Gen. Issam Zahreddine; (Republican Guard commander); Brig. Gen. Mohamed Khaddor; (commander of eastern Syria); Gen. Ghassan Iskendar Taraf (WIA); (Al-Qassem commander); Ahmed Salman Salloum †; (Tiger Forces senior commander); Wael Zaidan †; (Tiger Forces commander); Nawaf Al-Bashir; (Al-Baggara Sheikh); Omar Al-Hassan; (al-Baqir Brigade commander); Maj. Gen. Mustafa Khosh Mohammadi †; (IRGC commander); Col. Morteza Hosseinpour-Shalmani †; (Iranian-led Iraqi contingent operations commander); Gen. Abdullah Khosrawi †; (Commander of Fatahin battalion); Ali al-Aa'shiq †; (Radwan Force commander); Anwar Yawri †; (Liwa Fatemiyoun commander); Turki Albu Hamad; (Forces of the Fighters of the Tribes chief commander); Fadi al-Mellah; (Galilee Forces commander)	Gulmurod Khalimov; (ISIL war minister, reported killed by Russia); Abu Muhammad al-Shimali; (Deir ez-Zor emir, reported killed by Russia); Abu Khuzaymah al-Tunisi ; (Hisbah police chief); Abu Saraqah Al-Trablosi †; (ISIL top commander of Hama Governate)
Units involved
Syrian Armed Forces Syrian Army 1st Armoured Division; 3rd Armoured Division Qalamoun Shield Forces; ; 5th Corps ISIS Hunters; ; 18th Armoured Division; 4th Armoured Division 38th Brigade; ; Republican Guard 800th Regiment; ; Tiger Forces; ; National Defence Forces and tribal militias Al-Shaitat militias; Al-Baggara militias; Baqir Brigade; Raqqawi militias; ; Syrian Arab Air Force; Military Intelligence Directorate Forces of the Fighters of the Tribes; Falcons of the Euphrates; ; ; Russian Armed Forces Russian Aerospace Forces; Russian Navy; Special Operations Forces; Wagner Group; "Thorbrandr" (Scandinavian volunteers); ; Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran IRGC; ; Hezbollah military Lebanese units Radwan Force; ; Syrian units Imam Mahdi Scouts from Nubl; ; ; Syrian Resistance Falcons of the Jazira and Euphrates; ; PMF-affiliated militias Kata'ib al-Imam Ali; Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba; Kata'ib Sayyid al-Shuhada; ;	Military of ISIL Wilayat Hama; Wilayat Homs; Wilayat Raqqa; Wilayat Deir ez-Zor; Hisbah Police; ;
Strength
50,000 (pro-government claim)	Several thousand fighters
Casualties and losses
912 killed (10 IRGC, 36 Hezbollah killed); 17 killed (15 PMCs)	1,394 killed
	190 civilians killed

The Central Syria campaign, known as "Operation Khuzam", or "Lavender", was a large-scale military operation of the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) against the Islamic State (IS) during the Syrian Civil War. Its goal was to capture the strategic oil town of Al-Sukhnah, and besiege and capture 11,000 square kilometers of ISIL territory in central Syria, after which the Syrian Army would advance towards Deir ez-Zor, and lift the three-year ISIL siege of the government's enclave in the city. Afterwards, the Syrian Army advanced towards the Islamic State's then-capital of Mayadin.

The campaign was concurrent with the Raqqa campaign conducted by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) against the Islamic State's former capital city and stronghold in Syria, Raqqa. In addition, the SDF launched their own offensive in mid-September south along the Euphrates River, after Syrian government forces reached Deir ez-Zor city.