On 17 November, the Syrian army managed to overrun the ISIL defenses around the peak of Al-Safa and impose control of the hilltop, killing a Daesh commander named Abu Hajer Al-Shishani. The territorial control of the Syrian army of the Al-Safa volcanic field increased to 80%, with ISIL still having a presence on the western axis and several sources saying ISIL fighters were withdrawing towards eastern Homs.