ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Russian airstrikes have forced ISIS militants to withdraw from Palmyra on Sunday, shortly after a weekend offensive enabled them to conquer most of the ancient city.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights conflict monitor said the militants have been driven to the orchards on the outskirts of the city.
An activist in the area previously told the BBC that, as of Sunday morning, the city was “more or less” in ISIS hands after the militants launched an offensive against it earlier in the week.
This comes nine months after a Russian-backed Syrian regime offensive recaptured the city in the first regime offensive since ISIS forced them out of the entirety of the province of Raqqa back in August 2014.
ISIS originally captured the site, along with the Iraqi city of Ramadi, in May 2015 in their last major offensive to date. Since then the group has largely been on the defensive, losing the majority of its territory in Iraq’s Anbar province and facing multiple defeats by Syrian Kurdish forces.
They are currently under siege in the city of Mosul, the largest city they have ever captured and from where they declared the formation of their caliphate in June 2014.
ISIS’s attack on Palmyra also comes as the Syrian regime is making headway in recapturing all of Aleppo, the country’s second-city, from its opponents.
When ISIS last controlled Palmyra they destroyed parts of the world heritage site but failed to destroy it completely. Following its recapture in March 2016 the Russians demined the city and held an orchestra there marking their victory.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights conflict monitor said the militants have been driven to the orchards on the outskirts of the city.
An activist in the area previously told the BBC that, as of Sunday morning, the city was “more or less” in ISIS hands after the militants launched an offensive against it earlier in the week.
This comes nine months after a Russian-backed Syrian regime offensive recaptured the city in the first regime offensive since ISIS forced them out of the entirety of the province of Raqqa back in August 2014.
ISIS originally captured the site, along with the Iraqi city of Ramadi, in May 2015 in their last major offensive to date. Since then the group has largely been on the defensive, losing the majority of its territory in Iraq’s Anbar province and facing multiple defeats by Syrian Kurdish forces.
They are currently under siege in the city of Mosul, the largest city they have ever captured and from where they declared the formation of their caliphate in June 2014.
ISIS’s attack on Palmyra also comes as the Syrian regime is making headway in recapturing all of Aleppo, the country’s second-city, from its opponents.
When ISIS last controlled Palmyra they destroyed parts of the world heritage site but failed to destroy it completely. Following its recapture in March 2016 the Russians demined the city and held an orchestra there marking their victory.
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