On 17 June, IS launched a surprise attack on government forces around the T-3 Pumping Station, destroying one tank and killing several Syrian Army soldiers. The next day, government reinforcements from the Republican Guard, National Defence Forces, Liwa Fatemiyoun, as well as additional Hezbollah fighters, were sent in preparation for a new operation against IS in the region. The same day, the military seized several IS positions between the T-2 airbase and al-Hamima and by 20 June pro-government forces reportedly cleared 1,200 km2 of territory in the Homs-Deir ez-Zor region, killing at least 50 IS militants. In addition, government forces seized 2,500 square kilometers of IS-held territory along the Iraqi border on 21 June. However, IS attacks from the Deir ez-Zor desert on government positions around the Euphrates continued throughout the summer, during which dozens of Syrian Army soldiers were killed; some estimates by the local observers were that up to 1,000 IS fighters were still hiding in the Homs-Deir ez-Zor desert pocket.
