Syrian regime forces yesterday reached the outskirts of the ancient city of Palmyra in a bid to regain control of it from Daesh, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.
“The regime forces are now two kilometres away on the south side and five kilometres away on the west side,” observatory Director Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP.
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Daesh captured the city in May last year and destroyed several ancient monuments there including the temple of Baal Shamin, the Arch of Triumph and a statue known as the Lion of Al-lāt.
Abdel Rahman explained that this is a decisive battle for the regime which would open a road to the mostly Daesh-held eastern province of Deir Al-Zor.
“If the regime forces recapture Palmyra, the Islamic State will automatically lose the desert area between the city and the Iraqi border in the east which stretch over 30,000 square kilometres,” the group said, using another name for Daesh.
Regime forces began on 7 March operations to restore Palmyra in the province of Homs in central Syria with heavy air cover provided by Russian aircrafts and helicopters.
Syrian opposition groups accused the regime of handing over the city to Daesh.