Second Battle of the Shaer gas field

Second Battle of the Shaer gas field
Part of the Syrian Civil War
Shaer gas field
Date28 October – 6 November 2014
(2 weeks)
LocationPalmyra region, Homs Governorate, Syria
Result Syrian Army victory[1]
Territorial
changes
  • The Army recaptures all territory previously lost[2][3][4]
  • ISIL initially captured the Shaer,[5] Jahar and al-Moher gas fields, Hayyan Gas Company[2] and Zimlat al-Maher hill[6]
Belligerents
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant

Syria Syrian Arab Republic

Syrian Resistance[7]
Commanders and leaders
Hassan Abbous
(IS emir of Homs)[8]		 Colonel Suheil al-Hassan
(Overall and Tiger Forces commander)[9]
Colonel Mohammad Jaber
(Suqur al-Sahara commander)[10]
Fadi ‘Isma’el †
(NDF commander)[11]
Units involved
Military of ISIL

Syrian Army:

Casualties and losses
200+ killed, 73 captured (military source)[12][14] 58 killed (military source)[11]

The Second Battle of the Shaer gas field is 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 second attack that was launched by ISIL on the gas field.

Background

In mid-July 2014, radical jihadists of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) attacked and captured the field from government forces, which was followed by an Army counter-attack which drove ISIS back out. It was one of the deadliest battles up-to-date in the war between fighters of the militant group and government troops.[15]

Battle

On 28 October, ISIL re-attacked the Sha'er gas field, leaving at least 30 government troops and an unknown number of ISIS insurgents dead. ISIS managed to capture large parts of the oil and gas field.[16] However, Al-Masdar put the death tolls at 18 government troops and over 30 ISIS militants, while 11 soldiers were wounded. It also claimed that by 9 AM the Army had recaptured parts of the gas field the next day[17] and recaptured wells 101 and 102 of the gas field on the 30th.[18]

SOHR, however, reported that ISIL regained control over the Shaer Gas field on 30 October, forcing the Syrian Army to pull back from the area.[5] According to the MASAR news agency, at this point, 50 soldiers and 15 ISIL fighters were killed in the clashes. It was also reported that ISIS captured 17 soldiers and many military vehicles.[19] The next day, ISIL took control over the Hayyan Gas Company affiliated to Sha’er Gas Field and, according to SOHR, could cut off the Damscus-Tadmor-Homs highway, upon reaching the Hama-al-Raqqa road junction.[20]

Al-Masdar reported that ISIL had launched a full-scale offensive in the Jabal Sha'ar area, which includes the gas field, and an attack on the T4 airbase was attempted. The Syrian Army managed to repel the attacks on the airbase and subsequently attacked insurgent forces at Umm Rajab farms. Al-Masdar reports of heavy casualties on both sides: government troops suffered 36 dead and 61 wounded, while ISIS lost over 100 fighters. Reinforcements were expected to arrive and boost the SAA's defense of the area.[21]

ISIL also captured the Zimlat al-Maher (Syriatel) hill, forcing the SAA to pull back to the T4 airbase and confirmed that the Sha'er gas field was captured by the militants. He also noted that Rayan gas field, east of Shaer, and Jahar field, south of Shaer, were still under government control.[6]

On 2 November, according to pro-government sources, the Syrian Desert Falcons, a unit composed of veterans specialized in desert warfare, participated in the counter-attack that was launched that day.[22]

On 3 November, ISIL captured the Jahar gas field.[23] The next day, the Army recaptured the village of Kherbet al-Tayyas, northeast of the T4 airbase.[24][25]

On 5 November, the Syrian Army recaptured the Zimlat al-Maher (Syriatel) hill and secured the road leading to Tadamur and Farkalas and the road to the Tiyas military airport.[3] The military also recaptured the Jahar and al-Moher gas fields as well as the Hayan gas company[2] as ISIL fighters retreated under shelling and air-strikes.[26] ISIL still continued to control parts of the Shaer gas field.[2] According to Al-Masdar, government troops captured 13 ISIS militants the same day, 12 of whom were foreigners (9 Chechens, 2 Saudis and 1 Malaysian).[12]

On 6 November, the Army retook the Shaer gas field and Syriatel Hill from ISIL.[4][27]

Aftermath – Continued fighting

On 11 November, according to a military source, the Army retook the final oil well (Well 105) captured by ISIL near Sha'er gas field, forcing the militants to retreat towards Al-Hasakah Governorate.[7][28] However, a few days later, ISIL recaptured Well 107.[28] On 19 November, the second-in-command in the Suqur al-Sahara and vice president of the intelligence branch in the desert, Colonel Mohsen Hussein, was killed in the Shaer area during "a search-and-destroy mission". The Syrian Army also recaptured Well 107.[28] Two days later, the Syrian Army re-captured more positions in the vicinity of Gas Well 107.[29] That day, the number of pro-government troops who died in the previous 24 hours since a new attempt by ISIL to seize the Shaer gas field, rose to 21. [30]

On 23 November, ISIL advanced in the Shaer area,[31] north of Syriatel hill. ISIL than attempted an attack on the hill and a few adjacent locations on 27 November, but the Tiger Forces repelled the attack and moved on a counter-attack which reportedly left 30 IS militants dead.[13]

On 1 December, the Army recaptured Well 105, leaving 77 IS militants dead and 32 captured. No casualties on the government side were given. The recapture of Well 105 meant that the Army recaptured all gas wells captured by ISIL in late October.[9]

In early May 2016, ISIL once again captured the Shaer gas field.[32] 34 soldiers and 16 ISIL fighters were killed during the battle for the field.[33]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Syrian army retakes al-Shaer gas field". Al Monitor. 18 November 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Syria army retakes gas fields from jihadists: activists". The Daily Star Newspaper - Lebanon. Retrieved 14 November 2014.
  3. 1 2 "Elijah J. Magnier". Twitter. Retrieved 14 November 2014.
  4. 1 2 "Syrian government forces retake gas field from Islamic State: monitor". Retrieved 14 November 2014.
  5. 1 2 Master. "ISIS gain control in Shaer gas field, and regime forces torture 12 men to death in Homs.". Syrian Observatory For Human Rights. Retrieved 3 November 2014.
  6. 1 2 "Elijah J. Magnier: 1-11-2014". Retrieved 3 November 2014.
  7. 1 2 Leith Fadel. "Syrian Army Captures Final Oil Well at Al-Sha’ar; Nusra Losing Ground in Idlib". Al-Masdar News. Retrieved 14 November 2014.
  8. ↑ "Syria fights to free gas field from Islamic State". sacbee. Retrieved 25 October 2014.
  9. 1 2 Leith Fadel (1 December 2014). "Homs: The Tiger Forces Capture Well 105; NDF 25 Approaching Ar-Raqqa". Al-Masdar News. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
  10. ↑ Leith Fadel. "Senior Al-Qaeda Fighter Killed at Sheikh Miskeen; Desert Hawks Reassigned to Dara’a Front". Al-Masdar News. Retrieved 14 November 2014.
  11. 1 2 Leith Fadel. "ISIS Backpedalling at Al-Sha’ar Gas Fields; SAA on the Offensive". Al-Masdar News. Retrieved 14 November 2014.
  12. 1 2 3 4 Leith Fadel (5 November 2014). "Syrian Army Overlooking Al-Sha’ar Gas Fields; 9 Chechen Fighters Captured in Jabal Al-Sha’ar". Al-Masdar News. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  13. 1 2 Leith Fadel (28 November 2014). "East Homs: Tiger Forces Repel Another ISIS Offensive at Jabal Al-Sha’ar". Al-Masdar News. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
  14. ↑ "ISIS Suffers Devastating Losses in Eastern Syria This Week". almasdar. Retrieved 8 November 2014.
  15. ↑ "Reports: At least 115 Syrian troops, workers killed in Islamic militants’ seizure of gas field". Retrieved 25 October 2014.
  16. ↑ "ISIS attack on Syria oil field kills 30: monitor". The Daily Star. 29 October 2014. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
  17. ↑ "Breaking: Syrian Army Downs ISIS Drone in Deir Ezzor; Heavy Fighting in East Homs". Al-Masdar News. 29 October 2014. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
  18. ↑ "Intense Firefights at Jabal Al-Sha’ar in Homs; SAA Captures Tal Sayyid in Hama". Al-Masdar News. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
  19. ↑ "ISIL reoccupied Shaer gas field in Syria". Retrieved 3 November 2014.
  20. ↑ sohranas. "IS militants take control over Hayyan Gas Company in Homs". Syrian Observatory For Human Rights. Retrieved 3 November 2014.
  21. ↑ Leith Fadel (1 November 2014). "Battle Map of East Homs: Jabal Al-Sha’ar Engulfed in Violence". Al-Masdar News. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
  22. ↑ "Rook on Twitter: "#Homs: Image: #SAA's Suqour Al-Sahra'a Unit presumably before counter-attack on #ISIS near Sha'er Gas Plant. http://t.co/9ZgNwxsRri"". Retrieved 3 November 2014. External link in |title= (help)
  23. ↑ "Islamic State says seizes second gas field in Syria". Retrieved 3 November 2014.
  24. ↑ "Homs Province". Retrieved 14 November 2014.
  25. ↑ "ISIS Loses More Ground at Jabal Al-Sha’ar; SAA Captures Strategic Hill". almasdar. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
  26. ↑ "Homs Province". Retrieved 14 November 2014.
  27. ↑ sohranas. "The regime forces re- capture the Sha’er gas field". Syrian Observatory For Human Rights. Retrieved 14 November 2014.
  28. 1 2 3 Syrian Army Captures Well 107 in Jabal Al-Sha’ar; Desert Hawks Officer Killed in Battle
  29. ↑ Homs Province: 21-11-2014
  30. ↑ "مقتل 21 من قوات النظام على يد تنظيم "الدولة الإسلامية" في حقل شاعر". SOHR. Archived from the original on November 24, 2014. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
  31. ↑ "Homs province: 24-11-2014". SOHR. Retrieved 25 November 2014.
  32. ↑ Islamic State militants seize gas field in eastern Syria
  33. ↑ Fighting calms in Syria's Aleppo amid truce, but hostilities persist elsewhere

Coordinates: 34°33′15″N 38°17′00″E / 34.5542°N 38.2833°E / 34.5542; 38.2833

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