| Battle of al-Qaryatayn (August 2015) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theSyrian Civil War | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
 Abu Hassan Al Khatami † |  Talal al-Barazi(Governor of the Homs Governorate)[1] | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| ~27 militants killed[citation needed] | 37 soldiers killed | ||||||||
| 230 civilians abducted by Islamic State | |||||||||
 | |||||||||
TheBattle of al-Qaryatayn (2015) was a military operation launched by theIslamic State of Iraq and the Levant to capture the town ofal-Qaryatayn, in August 2015, during theSyrian Civil War.
For much of theSyrian civil war, which began in March 2011, al-Qaryatayn remained relatively neutral in the conflict. Town elders made agreements with both government forces and the rebels to stay out of the fighting. However, its location is strategic as it lies at a crossroads between the northern and southern parts of the country. Al-Qaryatayn has served as conduit for both sides. Rebels smuggle arms from the north to rebel fighters in Damascus, while the government uses the town to reinforce and resupply their forces in the north and west.[2] It has also been used as a corridor for defectors from the Syrian Army from across the country as highways from the northern, southern, eastern and western directions run through al-Qaryatayn.[3]In late May 2015,Islamic State forces capturedPalmyra and the surrounding countryside after a largeoffensive.[4]
On 5 August, the Islamic State captured the town ofal-Qaryatayn.[5] This resulted in the deaths of 40 Syrian soldiers and 27 Islamic State militants.[citation needed] It was reported that Islamic State use deserts of Homs as launchpad for the attack on Al Qaryatayn and the master mind of this operation was an Islamic State Emir known as Abu Hassan Al-Khatami. Abu Hassan was killed in the battle and Islamic State renamed the battle after him asBattle of Abu Hassan Al Khatami in order to pay tribute to his services to the Islamic State.[6]
On 6 August, The Islamic State group abducted 230 civilians, including at least 60Christians from Al-Qaryatayn.[7]Islamic State later advanced even further, capturingMahin andHuwwarin by 8 August, thus pushing hundreds of Christians to flee persecution.[8] However, the Syrian military recaptured Mahin later after intense airstrikes and ground force attack that killed 20 IS fighters.[9]
On 9 August, the SAAF bombed Islamic State positions in al-Qaryatayn, resulting in the deaths of around 30 Islamic State fighters as well as the destruction of seven vehicles and a rocket depot, according to governmental sources.[citation needed] On 13 August, SOHR reported fierce fighting between the SAA and Islamic State fighters in the area between al-Qaryatayn and Mahin and Huwwarin, when the Islamic State attempted to advance towards the two towns.[10] The Islamic State briefly managed to capture both Mheen and Hawwarin west of Al-Qaryateyn city on 31 October in an attempted general offence onSadad, before losing this territory 22–23 November.[11]
The SAA later recaptured al-Qaryatayn in theBattle of al-Qaryatayn (2016).
