2.6.2. Territorial control and main armed actors

Territorial control in Homs governorate changed during the reference period. In November 2025, ISW and CTP assessed that the western part of the governorate as well as a corridor linking that area with Deir Ez-Zor were controlled by the Syrian Transitional Government, while the south-east and centre were controlled by unidentified opposition groups, except for the Al-Tanf Deconfliction Zone – an area in the south-east along the borders to Iraq and Jordan. The remainder of the governorate was mapped as ‘Lost Regime Territory’.748 By mid-February 2026, ISW and CTP assessed that the Syrian Transitional Government had expanded its control and taken over Al-Tanf as well as the areas previously controlled by unidentified opposition groups. Areas in the north and east along the border to Deir Ez-Zor and Raqqa governorates as well as a stretch of land in the governorate’s centre-west between the areas controlled by Syrian Transitional Government remained mapped as ‘Lost Regime Territory’.749 In mid-February 2026, the Syrian army took control over the US-run Al-Tanf military base.750 US forces and the Global Coalition Against ISIL had established the base within the Deconfliction Zone in 2016.751 ISW and CTP assessed the 52nd Special Forces Division (formerly the 103rd Division) as the Syrian army’s unit active in Homs governorate.752

According to Etana Syria, Palmyra was a key location in an area where ISIL managed to maintain ‘significant influence and operational capacity’.753