DAMASCUS // Government forces backed by Russian airstrikes drove ISIL fighters from Palmyra on Sunday, state media and an opposition monitoring group said, ending the group’s reign of terror over a town whose famed 2,000-year-old ruins once attracted tens of thousands of visitors.
Government forces had been on the offensive for nearly three weeks to try to retake the central town, which fell to the extremists last May. Their advance marks the latest setback suffered by ISIL, which has come under mounting pressure on several fronts in Iraq and Syria.
State TV quoted an unnamed military official as saying that “the armed forces and groups of popular defence committees have fully taken control of Palmyra”. The popular defence committees are militias allied with the government.
The military official added that troops are now dismantling explosive booby traps planted by ISIL.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirmed ISIL has lost the town, saying there were many deaths among the extremists. It added that some of the extremists withdrew from Palmyra toward the town of Sukhna and other areas in Homs province.
The Observatory’s chief Rami Abdurrahman said three weeks of fighting killed more than 400 ISIL fighters, as well as 180 troops and pro-government militiamen.
On Saturday, Russia’s defence minister said Russian jets carried out 40 air sorties near Palmyra in the past day, hitting 158 targets and killing over 100 militants.
Russian air strikes have helped President Bashar Assad’s forces advance on a number of fronts in recent months.
Syrian state TV interrupted its normal programmes to air a documentary about the town and its archaeological sites. The TV earlier aired national songs as well as videos released earlier by ISIL showing its fighters committing atrocities in Syria and Iraq.
“It’s 10 in the morning Palmyra time. Our morning is victorious,” a TV announcer said.
Later a TV reporter spoke live from inside Palmyra, showing troops in the centre of the town. Some of the nearby buildings had been reduced to rubble.
Palmyra, affectionately known as the “Bride of the Desert”, used to attract tens of thousands of tourists every year. ISIL drove out government forces in a matter of days and later demolished some of the best-known monuments in the Unesco world heritage site. The extremists believe ancient ruins promote idolatry.
The militants also demolished the town’s infamous Tadmur prison, where thousands of Syrian government opponents were reported to have been tortured.
* Associated Press
