[5] During the Syrian civil war, Khasham was part of a large territory in Deir ez-Zor Governorate seized by forces of the self-styled Islamic State (IS) terrorist group during its 2014 offensive in the region.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported that on June 23, 2014, IS militants forced residents of Khasham and Tabyeh to leave the towns, telling them to "accept their repentance" after resisting the group.

[8] In April 2016, another airstrike, this time by the U.S.-led coalition, targeted a gas distribution station in ISIS-occupied Khasham, and killed at least eight people, according to activists.

[9] In September 2017, the oil fields near Khasham were captured by the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) during a campaign by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), supported by the United States-led CJTF–OIR coalition.

According to media reports, Russian and allied Syrian troops were located "just across the Euphrates" from the base, "but both sides avoid[ed] straying into the other's territory.