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              Syrian Forces Advance on Islamic State-Held Palmyra

   by Ken Bredemeier

   Syria says its forces have fought their way into Palmyra, the ancient
   city held for nearly a year by Islamic State insurgents who destroyed
   many of its Roman-era antiquities.

   Syrian state television said Thursday that government troops backed by
   Russian warplanes pushed into the city. Islamic State fighters used
   loudspeakers to warn civilians to leave as the fighting intensified.

   The state news agency SANA showed Russian planes flying above the city,
   helicopters firing missiles and soldiers and armored vehicles
   advancing.

   Destruction
   Palmyra, a UNESCO world heritage site known as the "Pearl of the
   Desert," has been held by Islamic State since May.

   ''

   To widespread condemnation, the insurgents blew up many of the city's
   world-renown relics, including the 2,000-year-old Temple of Bel and the
   iconic Arch of Triumph, and looted centuries-old artifacts.

   ''

   The head of Syria's antiquities and museum's agency, Maamoun
   Abdulkarim, said he hoped the government's advance on the city would
   end the "nightmare" of last year's Islamic State takeover. He called
   the fight for Palmyra a "cultural battle for the entire world, and
   everyone who believes in common human heritage."

   The Syrian broadcast said fighting is occurring near one of the
   archaeological sites. One soldier said he had a message for the Islamic
   State fighters: "You will be crushed under the feet of the Syrian Arab
   Army."

   Dwindling population
   Palmyra's one-time population of 70,000 dwindled to 15,000 under
   Islamic State rule. The extremists' harsh tactics, including public
   beheadings of supposed opponents, sparked the exodus.

   The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors
   fighting in Syria with frontline accounts from inside the country, said
   most of the residents fled before the government assault this week.
   "Only those too poor to flee stayed behind," the monitoring group said.

   If forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad regain control of
   Palmyra, it would be a strategic as well as symbolic victory, since the
   city is the gateway to the vast desert extending from central Syria to
   the Iraqi border.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/syrian-forces-advance-on-islamic-stat
   e-held-palmyra/3252655.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/syrian-forces-advance-on-islamic-state-held-palmyra/3252655.html