Palmyra: ISIS booby-trapped entire area hoping to kill 100s

[Anthea]

Syrian troops drive IS out of historic Palmyra

Syrian government forces backed by Russian airstrikes drove Islamic State fighters from Palmyra on Sunday, ending the group's reign of terror over a town whose famed 2,000-year-old ruins once drew tens of thousands of visitors each year.

Government forces had been on the offensive for nearly three weeks to try to retake the central town, known among Syrians as the "Bride of the Desert," which fell to the extremists last May. Their advance marks the latest in a series of setbacks for IS, which has come under mounting pressure on several fronts in Iraq and Syria in recent months.

Gen. Ali Mayhoub announced on state TV that that the fall of Palmyra "directs a fatal blow to the ISIL, undermines the morale of its mercenaries, and ushers in the start of its defeat and retreat." He said it lays the ground for further advances toward Raqqa, the IS group's de facto capital, and Deir el-Zour, an eastern city it largely controls.

In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, Syrian soldiers take up positions during fighting between Government forces and Islamic State group militants in Palmyra, Syria, Sunday, March 27, 2016. Syrian state media and an opposition monitoring group say government forces backed by Russian airstrikes have driven Islamic State fighters from the historic central town of Palmyra, held by the extremists since May. (SANA via AP)

Troops in Palmyra are now dismantling explosive booby traps planted by IS, the station reported. State TV and a Britain-based monitoring group later reported that troops captured a military base to the east.

The advance marks a strategic and symbolic victory for the government, which has sought to portray itself as a bulwark against terrorism. The town was an important juncture on an IS supply line connecting its territory in central and northern Syria to the Anbar province in Iraq, where the group also holds territory.

IS drove government forces from Palmyra in a matter of days last May and later demolished some of the best-known monuments in its UNESCO world heritage site, including two large temples dating back more than 1,800 years and a Roman triumphal archway.

The extremists have destroyed a number of historical sites across their self-declared caliphate, viewing such ruins as monuments to idolatry.

IS also demolished Palmyra's infamous Tadmur prison, where thousands of government opponents were reportedly tortured.

Syrian state TV hailed the government's advance, and a local reporter spoke live from inside Palmyra, showing troops in the center of the town. Some of the nearby buildings had been reduced to rubble.

Syrian Culture Minister Issam Khalil hailed the recapture of Palmyra as a "victory for humanity and right over all projects of darkness." Maamoun Abdulkarim, director of the museums and antiquities department in Damascus, said Palmyra's Great Colonnade had suffered only minor damage. "We will rebuild what you have destroyed," he said, addressing IS.

The Syrian opposition, which blames the government for the country's devastating civil war and the rise of IS, rejected that narrative.

"The government wants through this operation to win the favor of Western nations by fighting against terrorism, while obscuring its responsibility as providing the reasons for the spread of terror," said Khaled Nasser, a member of the opposition coalition that has been negotiating with the government in Geneva.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the conflict through local activists, confirmed IS had lost the town. Observatory chief Rami Abdurrahman said three weeks of fighting killed more than 400 IS fighters, as well as 180 troops and pro-government militiamen.

Residents told The Associated Press that IS evacuated all of Palmyra's civilians to other territories under its control before government forces entered the city.

Government forces have advanced on a number of fronts in recent months, aided by a Russian air campaign. Moscow announced earlier this month that it would begin drawing down its forces, but said it will continue to target IS and other extremist groups.

Russian jets carried out 40 air sorties near Palmyra in a 24-hour period, hitting 158 targets and killing more than 100 militants, Russia's defense minister said Saturday.

The government has also benefited from a U.S. and Russian-brokered cease-fire that has sharply reduced violence across the country since it took effect last month. IS and the al-Qaida-affiliated Nusra Front are excluded from the agreement. The truce is intended to support peace talks underway in Geneva that were adjourned last week.

Syria's conflict began a little more than five years ago with mostly peaceful protests against the Assad family's four-decade rule. A fierce government crackdown and the rise of an insurgency plunged the country into a full-blown civil war that has killed more than 250,000 people.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/ap/art ... lmyra.html

[Anthea]

EXTREMELY SERIOUS QUESTION:

Why did not any of the coalition prevent ISIS from reaching and entering Palmyra?

It was painfully obvious that ISIS were SLOWLY heading towards Palmyra

It was NOT an overnight attack - out of the dark and without warning

Puts me in mind of Kobane

It was painfully obvious that ISIS were SLOWLY heading towards Kobane

It was NOT an overnight attack - out of the dark and without warning

Yet in neither place were there any serious attempts to stop ISIS advancement

Who benefited from ISIS attack and occupation of Palmyra and Kobane?

TURKEY and it's JUHADIST ISIS FIGHTERS

By entering Palmyra ISIS showed the world that they were virtually unstoppable and could go anywhere they wanted and destroy anything they wanted

There was no need for ISIS to remain in Palmyra because they had already proved their point

Turkey wanted to remove Kurds from it's border so purposely allowed ISIS to enter Kobane

But the questions remains:

Why did not any of the coalition prevent ISIS from reaching and entering Palmyra or Konane?

[Anthea]

Reuters

Syrian forces pursue campaign against Islamic State after retaking Palmyra
By Lisa Barrington

BEIRUT 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 towards Deir al-Zor, it said.

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 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 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.

RUSSIAN WITHDRAWAL

Russia's intervention in September turned the tide of Syria's five-year conflict in Assad's favour. 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, but is still showing signs of its partial withdrawal from Syria.

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 neighbouring Iraq, the first major 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 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 centres 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

HOW MANY TIMES DID THE WORLD DO NOTHING

[Anthea]

Syrian security forces are clearing mines and disarming other explosives left scattered around by the Islamic State (IS) in the ancient town of Palmyra.

"The terrorist organisation of ISIS booby-trapped the entire area with wires reaching the power circuit here in order to blow up the circuits once the town is put back online and to destroy the town with its residents and soldiers," said a Syrian soldier.

The historic world heritage site has been reduced to rubble in many areas as the militants destroyed much of the site in line with their strict interpretation of Islamic theology that deems statues and temples dedicated to deities other than Allah to be destroyed.

Footage filmed on Tuesday (March 29) showed extensive damage to the historical area, with large columns reduced to almost nothing.

An official from Syria’s Ministry of Culture said the Syrian government will start repairing relics damaged in the battle of Palmyra.

Dr. Ahmad Deeb, Director of Museums Affairs of the Directorate General of Antiquities and Museums, led a team into the ancient site of Palmyra to assess the situation on Monday (March 29), one day after the Syrian government retook the area.

“As we all know, the Palmyra ruins is a world heritage site. We have to consult UNESCO on this. Right now what we need to do is carry out some repairs and salvage works in the citadel and the museum,” said Dr. Deeb.

“Three major sites of the Palmyra ruins were heavily destructed. The first one is the Temple of Bel, the second one is the Temple of Baalshamin, and the third one is the Arch of Triumph,” he added.

However, some precious relics survived the havoc thanks to efforts made before the war.

“We took some of the relics out of the museum to safety before IS took control of the city last year. But some of the relics were too big to move, and they were destroyed by the extremists,” said Dr. Deeb.

He said that despite help from Russia and UNESCO, the already complex and delicate repair operation will be made tougher due to the dangers of explosives and mines left behind by IS.

Syrian government forces backed by heavy Russian air support drove IS out of Palmyra on Sunday (March 27), inflicting what the army called a mortal blow to militants who seized the city last year.

The loss of Palmyra represents one of the biggest setbacks for the ultra-hardline Islamist group since it declared a caliphate in 2014 across large parts of Syria and Iraq.

The army general command said that its forces took over the city with support from Russian and Syrian air strikes, opening up the huge expanse of desert leading east to the IS strongholds of Raqqa and Deir al-Zor.

In addition to the quarter of a million fatalities, the war has displaced 10 million people, drawn foreign powers into the conflict and created the world's biggest refugee crisis.

http://www.nrttv.com/EN/Details.aspx?Jimare=6109