Deir ez-Zor campaign (2017–2019)  The Deir ez-Zor campaign (2017–2019), codenamed the al-Jazeera Storm campaign, was a military operation launched by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in Syria's Deir ez-Zor Governorate in 2017 during the Syrian Civil War with the goal of capturing territory in eastern Syria, particularly east and north of the Euphrates river. The U.S.-led Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF–OIR) anti-ISIL coalition provided extensive air support while SDF personnel composed the majority of the ground forces; CJTF-OIR special forces and artillery units were also involved in the campaign. The ground campaign stalled and was paused in early 2018 due to the Turkish-led invasion of Afrin, but resumed on 1 May 2018 with the new phase named by the anti-ISIL Coalition as Operation Roundup. The third phase started on 10 September 2018 but was once again halted due to Turkish artillery attacks on SDF positions near the Syria-Turkey border on 31 October. The SDF and the Coalition announced the resumption of the offensive on 11 November. After a string of steady successes following the capturing of ISIL's Hajin stronghold and a ten-day pause for civilian evacuations, the SDF launched its final assault on the remainder of the Middle Euphrates River Valley (MERV) pocket on 9 February 2019. The first phase of the campaign was concurrent with another SDF operation, the Raqqa campaign conducted against Raqqa, ISIL's then-capital city and stronghold in Syria, as well as with the Central Syria campaign, the Eastern Syria campaign, and the Battle of Deir ez-Zor, in which the Syrian Army (SAA) was also capturing territory from the Islamic State; the Iraqi Army's Western Iraq campaign against ISIL was also underway. The entirety of the SDF's campaign was also concurrent with the Syrian Army's Syrian Desert campaign. On 25 August 2017, around 800 fighters from the Syrian Elite Forces defected to the SDF's Deir ez-Zor Military Council. On the same day, Ahmad Abu Khawla, commander of the Deir ez-Zor Military Council, announced that it would launch an offensive north of Deir ez-Zor within several weeks. Just before the start of the offensive, the SDF received a large amount of new weaponry and ammunition from the U.S.-led CJTF–OIR Coalition.