The Syrian army backed by Russian jets has completed the recapture of the iconic ancient city of Palmyra from the Islamic State group, the Kremlin said Thursday.
Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu informed President Vladimir Putin of the completion of the operation, spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian news agencies.
A monitoring group following the conflict told AFP that while the jihadists had pulled out of Palmyra Syrian regime forces had yet to move into the entire city.
"IS has fully withdrawn from Palmyra, but the Syrian army is still clearing neighbourhoods of mines and has not spread out into the whole city yet," Syrian Observatory for Human Rights head Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP.
The historic oasis city has traded hands several times during the six-year civil war and become a symbol of IS's wanton destruction of cultural heritage in areas under its control.
The jihadist group first seized Palmyra in May 2015 and began to systematically destroy and loot the UNESCO world heritage site's monuments and temples. IS fighters were driven out in March 2016 but recaptured the city last December.
Bolstered by Russian air strikes and ground troops, Syrian government forces have been battling through the desert for weeks to reach Palmyra.
Qaeda confirms coalition strike killed top leader in Syria
Beirut (AFP) March 2, 2017 –
Al-Qaeda has confirmed that top leader Abu Khayr al-Masri, believed to be the organisation's number two, was killed in an air strike by the US-led coalition in Syria.
In a statement two branches of the jihadist group, including the powerful Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), called Masri a "hero" and said he was killed "during a Crusader drone strike" in Syria.
"All of al-Sham (Syria) will bear witness to the latest crime of America and the Crusader alliance," the statement dated Wednesday said, in reference to the US-led coalition bombing jihadists in Syria and Iraq.
It also expressed its condolences to Qaeda's current leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri.
Masri is a son-in-law of Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden and is believed to be Zawahiri's deputy.
A US official said this week that Washington was investigating reports that Masri had been killed in a US strike in or around the city of Idlib in northern Syria.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said earlier this week that a February 26 coalition raid on the town of Mastumah in Idlib province had killed Masri.
Egypt-born al-Masri, 59, was one of the most prominent figures in Al-Qaeda to have roots in the era before the September 11, 2001 attacks, according to the Soufan Group, a private security and intelligence consultancy.
"It was in al-Masri's guesthouse in Kabul, Afghanistan, that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed briefed top Al-Qaeda leaders about the planning of the September 11, 2001 attacks," the Soufan Group said.
His presence in Syria's northwestern Idlib province underscores the importance that country has gained in Al-Qaeda's strategy, analysts said.
Charles Lister of the Middle East Institute described al-Masri as "jihadi royalty," as a longstanding member of Al-Qaeda's central Shura Council and "one of Ayman al-Zawahiri's closest long-time confidants."
Russian jets mistakenly bomb US-backed forces in Syria: US
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Russian warplanes bombed US-backed fighters in several small villages in northern Syria after they mistakenly thought Islamic State group forces were in the area, a US general said Wednesday.
Army Lieutenant General Stephen Townsend said Russian and Syrian regime aircraft attacked the villages to the south and east of Al-Bab in Aleppo province on Tuesday, resulting in an unspecified num … read more
