Syrian army soldier
© SANA / Reuters A member of forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad takes a position on a look-out point during their offensive to recapture the historic city of Palmyra in this picture provided by SANA on March 24, 2016.
"From Tuesday to Thursday (March 22-24) the planes of the Russian Aerospace Forces carried out 41 sorties to support the advancing Syrian army and strike Islamic State (IS, Daesh, formerly ISIS/ISIL) militants in the area of Palmyra (Homs province)," Lieutenant General Sergey Kuralenko, head of the Russian ceasefire monitoring center, said on Friday.

"As a result of the actions of the Russian aviation, 146 terrorist facilities, including command centers, ammunition depots, artillery units, tanks and other vehicles, were destroyed," he added. Earlier on Friday, there were reports that the Syrian Army had taken control of a medieval castle situated on the hill overlooking the city of Palmyra. The 13th-century Fakhr-al-Din al-Maani Castle, or Palmyra Castle, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was the last strategic height in the city held by Islamic State fighters.

On March 14, Russia announced that it was withdrawing the majority of its forces from Syria, as the five-month operation nears its goals.

However, Deputy Defense Minister Nikolay Pankov stressed that Palmyra is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, formerly known for housing some of the best-preserved monuments of antiquity anywhere in the world. After capturing the historical landmark, the jihadists blew up the 2,000-year-old Temple of Bel, and the Arch of Triumph, and used the Roman-era amphitheater for filmed public executions.