Syrian government
forces backed by Russian air strikes battled Islamic State insurgents
around Palmyra on Monday, trying to extend their gains after taking back
control of a city whose ancient temples were dynamited by the
ultra-radical militants. The
loss of Palmyra on Sunday amounts to one of the biggest setbacks for
the jihadist group since it declared a caliphate in 2014 across large
parts of Syria and Iraq. The Syrian
army said the city, home to some of the most extensive ruins of the
Roman Empire, would become a "launchpad" for operations against Islamic
State strongholds in Raqqa and Deir al-Zor, further east across a vast
expanse of desert. Syrian state
media said on Monday that Palmyra's military airport was now open to air
traffic after the army cleared the surrounding area of Islamic State
fighters. There were clashes
northeast of Palmyra between Islamic State and forces allied to the
government, supported by Syrian and Russian air strikes, according to
the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the war. Air strikes, believed to be Russian, also targeted the road running east out of Palmyra toward Deir al-Zor, it said. U.N.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, speaking in Amman, said he was
"encouraged" that Syrian government forces had been able to drive
Islamic State out of Palmyra and that the city's ancient heritage could
now be preserved. But the Syrian
opposition said it feared President Bashar al-Assad's forces were using a
fragile cessation of hostilities in the wider conflict to make
territorial gains. "I fear one
thing: that the period of the truce will allow the Assad regime to
gobble up what remains of Syria by liberating areas that are controlled
by Daesh (Islamic State) and Nusra," Riad Nassan Agha, a member of the
opposition High Negotiations Committee, told Reuters by telephone. The
truce, accepted by Assad's government and most of his foes, is the
first of its kind since the war began five years ago and has been
accompanied by the first peace talks attended by the warring sides. It
does not apply to areas held by Islamic State fighters or the Syrian
branch of al Qaeda, known as the Nusra Front. Although
most of the Islamic State force fled Palmyra on Sunday, there were
still some militants in the city, the Observatory said. Observatory
director Rami Abdulrahman also said most residents had fled before the
government offensive and it had not heard about any civilian deaths. On
Sunday six explosions were heard triggered by triple car bombings
inside the city and on its fringes by the jihadist group. Three
militants with suicide belts also blew themselves up, inflicting
unspecified casualties among army forces and allied troops, the
Observatory said. Syrian state-run television broadcast from inside Palmyra, showing empty streets and badly damaged buildings. Abdulrahman
said 417 Islamic State fighters were so far known to have died in the
campaign to retake Palmyra, while 194 people were killed on the Syrian
government side. The figures could not be independently verified. RUSSIAN WITHDRAWAL Russia's
intervention in September turned the tide of Syria's five-year conflict
in Assad's favor. Despite Moscow's declared withdrawal of most military
forces two weeks ago, Russian jets and helicopters carried out dozens
of strikes daily over Palmyra as the army thrust into the city. In
a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Assad said Russia's
air support had been essential in taking back Palmyra, and said the
city would be rebuilt. Russia said
it would assist with securing and removing landmines in Palmyra
following the campaign, and the Kremlin said on Monday that the Russian
air force would continue to help Syrian government forces. But
Russian forces are still showing signs of their partial withdrawal.
Three heavy attack helicopters have left Moscow's Hmeimim air base in
Syria for Russia, Russian state TV channel Rossiya-24 reported on
Monday. Islamic State's
ejection from Palmyra came three months after it was driven out of the
city of Ramadi in neighboring Iraq, the biggest victory for Iraq's army
since it collapsed in the face of an assault by the militants in June
2014. Islamic State has lost ground
elsewhere, including the Iraqi city of Tikrit last year and the Syrian
town of al-Shadadi in February, as its enemies push it back and try to
cut links between its two main power centers of Mosul in Iraq and Raqqa
in Syria. On Friday the United
States said it believed it had killed several senior Islamic State
militants, including Abd ar-Rahman al-Qaduli, described as the group's
top finance official and aide to its leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. There
was fierce fighting around the Islamic State-held town of Qaryatain on
Monday, 100 km (60 miles) west of Palmyra, which the Syrian government
has also been trying to retake. Islamic State seized Qaryatain last
August after taking Palmyra. Syrian
television broadcast footage from inside Palmyra's museum on Sunday
showing toppled and damaged statues, as well as several smashed display
cases. Syria's antiquities chief said other ancient landmarks were still standing and pledged to restore the damaged monuments. "Palmyra
has been liberated. This is the end of the destruction in Palmyra,"
Mamoun Abdelkarim told Reuters on Sunday. "How many times did we cry for
Palmyra? How many times did we feel despair? But we did not lose hope."
Syrian forces pursue campaign against Islamic State after retaking Palmyra

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