© Sputnik/ Iliya Pitalev
As we
reported last week, the Syrian army is closing in on the ancient city of Palmyra. Aside from its symbolic importance, controlling Palmyra would also open a strategically vital road to the eastern province of Deir al-Zor. Here's a map from March 5 showing the advance:
According to Reuters, the Syrian army, backed by Russian air support, is now approximately 4 miles from the gates of Palmyra. Here's a map of the current situation:
Multiple reports confirm that the Syrian army is successfully engaging ISIS on the outskirts of the city. Meanwhile, Russian airstrikes
have been turning ISIS forces in Palmyra into hamburger meat:
Russian warplanes launched heavy airstrikes against Islamic State positions in the ancient city of Palmyra on Thursday.
The strikes killed dozens of ISIS fighters in a second day of air raids against the area. On Wednesday Russian warplanes carried out 150 raids in that area.
The capture of Palmyra would be a crushing blow to ISIS. As Reuters notes:
The capture of Palmyra and further eastward advances into Islamic State-held Deir al-Zor would mark the most significant Syrian government gain against IS since the start of the Russian intervention. With Russia's help, Damscus has already taken back some ground from IS, notably east of Aleppo.
According to
a report from Friday, the Syrian army "destroyed four Daesh firing positions, a large disguised ammunition depot and a command center northwest of the city of Palmyra."
With ISIS being attacked on multiple fronts, the capture of Palmyra now seems inevitable.
Comment: Like all areas that have come under the control of Western-backed terror groups, Palmyra has experienced a wave of tragedies.As soon as ISIS captured the site in May, 2015 they began
destroying ancient artifacts, temples, and gravesites. The custodian in charge of the area, Khaled al-Asaad, once
head of Palmyra Antiquities Department and Museums and a man celebrated for his rich knowledge of the site's treasures, refused to assist them. By refusing he knew that he would be 'made an example of' but he stayed due to the great love he had for the area, the people, and their history. He was beheaded in broad daylight.
A victory for the Russian coalition here, as part of their multi-pronged offensive to take ISIS' capital in Raqqa, cannot come too soon.
Further reading:
"Taking advantage of the cease-fire, loyalist forces supported by Russia and Iran have launched two significant offensives, one aimed at the city of al-Qaryatayn and the other at the ancient city of Palmyra. At the same time, the Syrian Democratic Forces are pursuing their offensive against the Islamic State [Daesh] in northern Syria, advancing into Deir ez-Zor for the first time and making inroads closer to Raqqa, the extremist group's self-declared capital," Strategic Forecasting Inc. (Stratfor), global intelligence company, reported on March 7.
Daesh is 'buckling under the pressure' from Russian coalition's offensive
Comment: Like all areas that have come under the control of Western-backed terror groups, Palmyra has experienced a wave of tragedies.As soon as ISIS captured the site in May, 2015 they began destroying ancient artifacts, temples, and gravesites. The custodian in charge of the area, Khaled al-Asaad, once head of Palmyra Antiquities Department and Museums and a man celebrated for his rich knowledge of the site's treasures, refused to assist them. By refusing he knew that he would be 'made an example of' but he stayed due to the great love he had for the area, the people, and their history. He was beheaded in broad daylight.
A victory for the Russian coalition here, as part of their multi-pronged offensive to take ISIS' capital in Raqqa, cannot come too soon.
Further reading: