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The Islamic State's capture of the town of Palmyra late Wednesday was a stunning triumph for the militant group, only days after it captured the strategic city of Ramadi in Iraq's largest Sunni province.

As IS took Palmyra, government forces collapsed in the face of the attacks and Syrian soldiers were seen fleeing the area, activists said. In Damascus, state TV acknowledged that pro-government forces had withdrawn from the town.

Rami Abdurrahman of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the extremists overrun the archaeological site, just to the southwest of the town itself, shortly after midnight Wednesday.

An activist in Homs who goes by the name of Bebars al-Talawy also confirmed that IS now controls the ruins at Palmyra. Both activists said the militants had not damaged the site so far.

A Facebook page close to IS published a statement Thursday, purportedly from the group, saying "the soldiers of the Islamic State" completed their control of Palmyra as well as the town's airport and prison. The capture came after government forces collapsed, "leaving large numbers of dead whose bodies filled the streets," it said.

The ruins at Palmyra are one of the world's most renowned historic sites and there were fears the extremists would destroy them as they did major archaeological sites in Iraq. The UNESCO world heritage site is famous for its 2,000-year-old towering Roman-era colonnades and other ruins and priceless artifacts. Before the war, thousands of tourists a year visited the remote desert outpost, a cherished landmark referred to by Syrians as the "Bride of the Desert."

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said it was not clear whether the militants were preparing to blow up the ancient desert city, a UNESCO Wold Heritage Site, or simply intended to impede any counter offensive by government forces.

Islamic State captured Palmyra from the forces of President Bashar al-Assad in late May, arousing fears that it might destroy its ruins, which include monumental streets lined with columns, temples and burial towers.

The extremist group has previously destroyed ancient monuments in Iraq, saying they were pagan, and is also thought to earn money from selling or authorizing the sale of archaeological artefacts.

But it has also shown off monuments such as the ancient city of Rasafeh, north-east of Palmyra, in propaganda footage about its self-proclaimed caliphate.

Shortly after capturing Palmyra, Islamic State blew up its military prison, notorious for the brutal treatment of political prisoners.

The Observatory, whose reports are compiled from a network of activists around Syria, said that clashes were taking place between Islamic State and government forces on the edge of the desert some 100 kilometres west of Palmyra.

Meanwhile, the Observatory reported further advances by the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), who are pushing south after capturing the border region of Tel Abyad from Islamic State last week.

The YPG victory linked up the Kurdish stronghold of north-eastern Syria with the Kobane enclave and cut off one of Islamic State's main supply routes from the porous Turkish border.

The Syrian conflict, which started when government forces brutally repressed peaceful protests in 2011, has degenerated into a multi-sided civil war between the al-Assad regime, an array of mainly Islamist rebel groups, Islamic State and the Kurds.

Author: Pol Gradaigh | Source: DPA International [June 21, 2015]

Bolstered by allied militias and airstrikes, the Syrian military pushed IS forces out of Tadmur's northern neighborhoods in a 24-hour period, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported Sunday, though the Sunni militants still hold a village north of the city.

Tadmur is adjacent to the ancient ruins of Palmyra, which comprises Roman temples and colonnades dating back over 2,000 years. UNESCO regards the ruins as a World Heritage Site.

The IS attack began Wednesday and was aimed at the cities of al-Sikhni and Tadmur. At least 295 people have been killed in the assault, including 123 regime troops and allied militiamen and 115 IS militants (including three "leading figures"), SOHR reports.

Fifty-seven civilians in and around the area were also killed, according to SOHR, a handful by airstrikes and shellfire and most by IS execution.

Aside from being near gas fields and a major airbase, Palmyra lies on the road between Deir al-Zour, the city of Homs and Syria's capital, Damascus.

The IS advance toward the ancient ruins has stoked anxiety stemming from the group's destruction of other archaeological sites under the charge of "idolatry," including the dismantling of 3,000-year-old artifacts at Iraq's Mosul Museum earlier this year. Officials say the group sells some artifacts on the black market to fund operations.

Meanwhile, advances by allied Islamic militants -- including al-Qaida's Nusra Front -- in Syria's northwest, near the Turkish border, have put forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on the defensive. The Syrian military last month lost all of its major urban strongholds in Idlib province, which is seen as a stepping stone toward Latakia province in the west. Latakia is home to the country's Alawite community to which Assad belongs.

Author: Fred Lambert | Source: UPI [May 17, 2015]

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the damage occurred when government forces blew up a tunnel dug by insurgents under the city, while the state news agency said the tunnel was blown up by rebels.

Maamoun Abdulkarim, the head of the government's Antiquities and Museums Department, told The Associated Press that the extremists destroyed the grave of Mohammad Bin Ali, a descendant of Imam Ali, cousin of Islam's Prophet Muhammad and a deeply revered Shiite saint. The grave was just north of Palmyra.

The second tomb is close to the city's famed Roman-era archaeological site and was the final resting place of a Sufi scholar, Nizar Abu Bahaa Eddine, who lived in Palmyra some 500 years ago.

The militants of the Islamic State group are Sunnis who follow a radical interpretation of Islam that views visiting tombs and religious shrines as tantamount to idol worshipping. They view Shiites as heretics and the followers of Islam's mystical Sufi orders as deviants.

Since the Islamic State group captured Palmyra last month, there have been fears that the extremists, who have destroyed famed archaeological sites in Iraq, would demolish Palmyra's sprawling Roman-era ruins, which were once one of the most popular tourist sites in the Middle East.

Earlier this week, Abdulkarim said he had received "unofficial news" from Palmyra that the militants intended to blow up the town's main historic site and that he had contacted tribal chiefs in the area to try to dissuade the militants. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said it had received information that Islamic State militants have mined the site. The report could not be independently verified.

Palmyra's UNESCO world heritage site is famous for its 2,000-year-old Roman colonnades, other ruins and priceless artifacts. Before Syria's conflict began in 2011, tens of thousands of tourists visited the remote desert outpost, a cherished landmark referred to by Syrians as the "Bride of the Desert."

Syrian authorities say they moved hundreds of priceless artifacts to Damascus ahead of the IS takeover last month, but the fate of those ruins too large to move is now in the hands of the extremists. Islamic State militants have already looted and vandalized a museum in the Iraqi city of Mosul and have massively damaged the ancient cities of Hatra and Ninevah - both UNESCO world heritage sites.

Source: Associated Press [June 24, 2015]