IS retakes ancient Syrian city of Palmyra.
IS retakes ancient Syrian city of Palmyra
STEPANAKERT, DECEMBER 12, ARTSAKHPRESS: IS re-entered the city and its nearby ancient ruins - a Unesco World Heritage site - on Saturday, after launching an offensive earlier in the week.
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Sunday morning that "intense" bombing from Russian planes had forced IS to withdraw to the orchards on the city's outskirts.
The Russian defence ministry said it had carried out 64 strikes during the operation, and claimed to have killed more than 300 militants, the source detailed.
The Syrian army has also sent reinforcements to the city, reportedly diverting troops from Aleppo.
The observatory later reported that militants had again fought their way into the town, forcing government forces to retreat to the south.
Palmyra is seen as strategic for IS because it lies close to oilfields. IS destroyed a number of monuments and beheaded the archaeological director during its 10-month occupation of the site and the adjacent city of Tadmur from May 2015 until it was forced out in March this year. Two 2,000-year-old temples, an arch and funerary towers were left in ruins.
