Syria army approaches ancient city of Palmyra

The Syrian troops are approaching the ancient city of Palmyra in central Syria, pan-Arab al-Mayadeen TV reported on Sunday.

After capturing two points at the outskirts of the city a day earlier, the military forces have closed in on the ancient city of Palmyra, which fell to the Islamic State (IS) group last May.

Meanwhile, a source told Xinhua that the government in Damascus is determined to recapture Palmyra.

For his side, the head of the Syrian antiquities department in Damascus, Maamoun Abdul-Karim, told Xinhua that capturing Palmyra would be "the end of a nightmare" for this millennia-old oasis city in the eastern countryside of the central province of Homs.

Sources familiar with the situation told Xinhua that the army backed by air force from the nearby T-4 military airbase are trying to storm the ancient city from its western rim, close to the historic castle of that ancient city.

Since capturing it last May, the terror-labeled group destroyed the city's notorious military prison and several Islamic tombs.

The IS also put on public executions of government soldiers and people accused of working for the government.

Palmyra contains the monumental ruins of a great city that was one of the most important cultural centers of the ancient world.

Syria has many prehistoric, Greek, Byzantine and Islamic heritages. Before the crisis, Syria had attracted many multinational archaeological missions coming for searching new clues of historical facts on the development of civilizations.
  [Xinhua -china.org.cn]
  13/3/16