The Syrian government forces, supported by the Russian raids, have regained "full control" of Palmyra, the city in the hands of ISIS since May 2015 which houses the archaeological site from the Roman period, a UNESCO heritage site. This was reported by the Syrian state TV quoting military sources and the activists of the Observatory for human rights who also speak of several deaths among the extremists.
The city, which houses one of the most important archaeological sites in the world, had been in the hands of Daesh since May 2015.
The battle lasted all night, the source quoted by the TV reported, assuring that Bashar Assad's regime has regained possession "of both the archaeological site and the residential districts". The militiamen of the Islamic State beat a retreat, towards Sukhnah and Deir Ezzor. Ever since Palmyra was conquered by the fundamentalists, the world has feared for its destruction, initiated by Isis by blowing up two temples on the site, a triumphal arch and a dozen ancient tombs.
But the most heinous and cruel gesture linked to the city, in addition to the destruction of temples such as that of Baalshamin and Bel, is that of the beheading of Khaled Asaad, an 82-year-old antiquities scholar and head of the Palmyra archaeological site for over half a century who had hidden hundreds of statues and artifacts to prevent the militias of the Islamic State from destroying or seizing them. Last August 2015, Asaad was beheaded in a public execution and his body hung from a Roman column at the site.
