Syrian Army Armor and Artillery in Deir Ezzor

Deir Ezzor has been under siege by ISIS since the summer of 2015. No new heavy equipment has been brought in since that time. The 104th brigade of the Republican guard and the 137th brigade of the Syrian army, as well as National Defense Force and local tribes defend the pocket from ISIS. The two main military sites in the Deir Ezzor pocket are the Airbase and the 137th artillery base. There are numerous small checkpoints throughout the SAA controlled parts of Deir Ezzor. The following is an analysis of their heavy equipment using satellite imagery.

Brigade 137:

Tanks/BMPs inside the base:

Tanks:

M-46 130mm artillery:

D-30 122mm artillery:

Tank:

Vehicle shelters with track marks around them:

Tanks guarding the perimeter of the base:

Deir Ezzor Airbase:

M-46 130mm artillery inside the airbase:

Tank/BMP on the Eastern perimeter of the airbase:

Syrian army outpost near Al-Tala'a, Western most point of the SAA Deir Ezzor pocket:

Tanks/other armored vehicles:

Finally, tanks stationed to the North West of the Airbase:

The Syrian army has quite a lot of equipment in the Deir Ezzor pocket, but they have been taking losses. During the recent ISIS offensive three BMPs were lost and two tanks were hit by ATGM. Hopefully they can holdout until the siege is broken, but that may take a very long time.

Islamic State Lost Armor

The following is a compilation of known ISIS armored vehicle losses to the SAA.


Deir Ezzor: Deir Ezzor has been under ISIS siege since mid 2015. ISIS has been trying to take the city and its airbase since 2014. During this time it has lost countless men and several armored vehicles. Several tanks and BMPs have been claimed hit by SAA ATGMs, but most of these reports do not come with video/photo evidence. Here are the known tank/BMP losses from Deir Ezzor:

1. Tank hit by airstrike, 2015:

2. T-55 captured, 2014:

3. BMP abandoned, early 2016:

4. BMP captured, early 2016:

5. T-55 destroyed by ATGM, May 2016:

East Homs. ISIS took much of Eastern Homs during the summer of 2015, seizing many tanks along the way. During Early 2016 the SAA reversed much of these gains, destroying or capturing several tanks.

1. Destroyed/captured T-62:

2. Captured T-62:

3. Captured T-62:

4. BMP-1 AMB-S hit by airstrike:

Kweres Airbase. Kweres airbase was under siege for years. During that time many ATGM hits were claimed against ISIS tanks and BMPs. 3 Armored vehicles were captured from ISIS during the siege, summer 2015.

1. T-72 with slat armor

2. Captured T-55 with slat armor:

3. Captured BMP-1 with slat armor:

East Aleppo offensive. The SAA launched a major offensive in Early 2016 to lift the siege of Kweres airbase and to capture much of the East Aleppo countryside. The offensive was highly successful in its goals, and it resulted in many losses for the Islamic State.

1. T-72M1 destroyed:

2. T-72AV captured:

3. T-62 with slat armor captured:

4. T-55 Destroyed:

5. Technical with BMP-1 turret captured:

6. BMP-1 captured:

7. BMP-1 destroyed:

Khanaser highway Aleppo, February 2016. ISIS briefly took the highway and cut Aleppo's only supply route. It was recaptured within a couple of weeks.

1. Destroyed BMP-1:

2. Destroyed T-72:

Kafir Saghir, Aleppo. In March ISIS briefly captured this town, but were forced to withdraw the next day, leaving behind two armored vehicles.

1. Destroyed/captured T-55:

2. Captured ZSU-23-4 Shilka:

Qalamoun. Brief ISIS offensive near Dumyer airbase resulted in a BMP-1 loss.

Syrian Army in Hasakah

The Syrian Army presence in the Eastern half of the country is down to three isolated pockets, one of which is Hasakah. Hasakah city is controlled jointly by the Syrian Army and the Kurdish YPG. The Syrian army (SAA) also has an artillery base East of the city known as the Kawkab artillery base, or 546th artillery base.

Kawkab base has proven itself to be an impenetrable fortress. The base contains about a dozen D-30 122mm artillery pieces and about 20 tanks.


D-30 artillery inside Kawkab:

Tanks inside Kawkab:

The last time Hasakah saw heavy fighting was during the Islamic State's offensive on the city during the summer of 2015. Initially ISIS was successful in pushing the SAA and YPG back, and were able to enter the city. ISIS took several neighborhoods inside Hasakah before the YPG cut off the roads they entered through, trapping them in these neighborhoods. The besieged ISIS fighters were then shelled by the SAA and YPG resulting in their annihilation. 300-400 ISIS fighters were killed in the battle along with about 125 SAA.

SAA T-55 tanks and one BMP-1 AMB-S moving to the Hasakah frontlines, 2015:

The Besieged ISIS-held neighborhoods were shelled by T-55 tanks as well as artillery fired from Kawkab base.

SAA KPV machine gun technical firing on ISIS positions:

Since the 2015 ISIS offensive Hasakah has been fairly calm. Small skirmishes and tensions have occurred between the YPG and SAA, but these tend to be resolved quickly. The SAA Hasakah garrison continues to grow as new recruits join the SAA and well as the SAA allied "National Defense Force" militia.

New NDF soldiers under training, May 2016:

New SAA soldiers training with T-55 tanks inside Kawkab base, 2016 (Photos via @Ivansidorenko1):

Notice two T-55 tanks and one BTR-60 in the background:

While things are quiet in Hasakah right now, ISIS could always try a new offensive. Should that happen, the SAA seems prepared to repel it.