Syrian Desert campaign (December 2017 – December 2024)

Syrian Desert campaign (December 2017– December 2024 )
	Part of the Syrian Civil War and Russian military intervention in the Syrian Civil War
Date	16 December 2017 – 8 December 2024; (6 years, 11 months, 3 weeks and 1 day)
Location	Syrian Desert Eastern Homs Governorate; Western Deir ez-Zor Governorate; Southern Raqqa Governorate; Southeastern Aleppo Governorate; Eastern Hama Governorate;
Result	Inconclusive Islamic State loses all territory in Syria, but widespread insurgency continues ; Fall of the Assad regime and withdrawal of Iranian and Russian forces;
Belligerents
Syrian Arab Republic; Russia; Iran; Allied groups:; Hezbollah; Popular Mobilization Forces; Islamic Resistance in Iraq; Liwa Fatemiyoun; Liwa Abu al-Fadhal al-Abbas; Free Palestine Movement; Palestine Liberation Army; Wagner Group	Islamic State
Commanders and leaders
Suhayl al-Hasan (WIA); Haj Nasser Jamil Hadraj †; Ghassan Muhammad Hijazi †; Vyacheslav Gladkikh †; Muhammad Taysar Az-Zahir †	Abu Abdallah Sheikh Qaduli (Top IS commander in the Syrian Desert)
Units involved
Syrian Arab Armed Forces Army 4th Division 12th Brigade; ; Republican Guard 47th Regiment; ; 25th Division; 2nd Corps 14th Division; ; 3rd Corps 3rd Division Qalamoun Shield (until 2018); ; 11th Division; 17th Division 137th Brigade; ; 18th Division 131st Brigade; ; ; 5th Assault Corps 4th Brigade Ba'ath Brigades; ; Liwa Al-Quds; ISIS Hunters (until 2023); ; ; Air Force; National Defence Forces; Local Defence Forces Baqir Brigade; Lions of Hussein; ; ; Military Security Shield Forces; Russian Armed Forces Ground Forces 29th Army 200th Brigade; ; ; Airborne Forces 45th Brigade; ; Aerospace Forces; ; Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps; Kata'ib Hezbollah; Kata'ib Sayyid al-Shuhada; "Al-Qatarji" militia; "Hamisho" militia; “Mohamed Hamshou” militia; Qamr Bani Hashim Division; “Abu Zainab” militia	Military of the Islamic State
Strength
Unknown number of SAA soldiers; 1,385 Iranian-backed fighters (2019)	2,000–3,000 main force, 300 reinforcements (2019 estimate); 500–600 (UN estimate, 2024);
Casualties and losses
2018 offensive; 237 killed ; 9 killed; March 2019–2024; 2,563 killed; 292 killed; 4 killed; Total: 3,105 killed	2018 offensive; 138 killed; March 2019–2024; 1,336 killed; Total: 1,474 killed
	280 civilians killed (March 2019–2024); Total: 4,859 killed

The Syrian Desert campaign was a campaign waged by the Syrian Arab Armed Forces forces and their allies, including Iran and Russia, against the remaining forces of the Islamic State in the Syrian Desert region.