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Syrian army says IS's defeat in Palmyra start of group's collapse

Xinhua, March 27, 2016 Adjust font size:

The General Command of the Syrian Army said the defeat of the Islamic State (IS) in the ancient city of Palmyra is the start of a further collapse of the militant group, the state news agency SANA said on Sunday.

"Recapturing Palmyra is a strong blow to the IS terrorists and will usher in a further collapse of the morale of that terror group and the beginning of its defeat and collapse," the Syrian army said in a statement.

Retaking Palmyra, the statement added, "is a sign that our army in cooperation with the friends is the only power capable of eradicating and rooting out terrorism."

The military statement said the recapture of the ancient city took place with the help of the Russian and Syrian air force.

Meanwhile, the state-run Alekhbaria said the three-week battles in Palmyra have killed over 600 IS militants, while the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the troops have killed over 400 militants.

Activists also said the battles killed 180 Syrian soldiers.

Meanwhile, a military source told Xinhua that the IS withdrew from the city under the heavy attack and shelling by the Syrian army.

The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the IS militants pulled out toward the town of Sukhneh, east of the central province of Homs.

The ancient city of Palmyra is booby-trapped, said the source, adding that bomb squads have started the work of defusing the explosives.

The city fell to the IS militants last May and the Syrian army started a broad offensive to recapture it several days ago.

Since capturing it last May, the IS group destroyed the city's military prison and several Islamic tombs. It also put on public executions of 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 to search for new clues of historical facts on the development of civilizations. Endit