The aim of the offensive was to expel the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant from the desert in southern Syria and to open a supply route between two rebel-held areas.

[16] On 29 December 2016, Southern Front groups led by the Forces of Martyr Ahmad al-Abdo launched an offensive against ISIL positions in the eastern Qalamoun Mountains.

[16] On 3 January 2017, the Army of Free Tribes announced the capture of the Zelaf dam east of as-Suwayda, the village next to it, and an ancient grotto used as a black site by ISIL.

[20] On 13 February, rebel forces led by the Lions of the East Army advanced in the as-Suwayda Governorate near the Jordan–Syria border and captured al-Kraa and al-Dayathah from ISIL.

[21] The Free Syrian Army's Martyr Ahmad al-Abdo Forces launched a night assault between 15 and 16 March against ISIL in the Eastern Qalamoun Mountains.

[29] It was reported on 24 March that ISIL was withdrawing from southern Syria to focus on the Raqqa offensive and had withdrawn from several areas of eastern Qalamoun without putting up any resistance.

The FSA announced that they had captured al-Badia area and more than a dozen sites near Bir al-Qasab, which were the main ISIL strongholds in southeastern Syria.

[41] On 20 April, FSA rebels led by the Lions of the East Army captured Alalianih, along with an abandoned military base, in the Syrian Desert.

[48] On 30 April, the Revolutionary Commando Army attacked and advanced into eastern Syria, reaching the Deir ez-Zor Governorate and capturing the village of Humaymah to the south of the T2 pumping station.

[51] On 7 May, the Syrian Arab Army launched an attack on the FSA, in the Badiya region of the southeastern countryside of Damascus,[52] advancing some 45 kilometers along the Baghdad-Damascus highway towards the Iraqi border.