Atop the ruins of Syria’s famed Palmyra theatre, recently recaptured from the Islamic State group, teenage musician Angel Dayoub sings an old Arabic favourite: “We’re coming back, oh love, we’re coming back.” The 15-year-old’s voice floats over the ancient Roman theatre, heavily damaged then abandoned by IS jihadists on Thursday as Russian-backed government forces drew … Read more
Syria’s ancient city of Palmyra, which government forces are again battling to retake from jihadists, has become a symbol of the Islamic State group’s wanton destruction of cultural heritage. The city and its ruins, designated a UNESCO world heritage site in 1980, have traded hands several times during Syria’s civil war. IS first seized Palmyra … Read more
Syrian government forces backed by Russian soldiers advanced Wednesday to the outskirts of ancient Palmyra after battles with the Islamic State group, a monitor and a military source said. “Regime forces and Russian troops are about one kilometre from the city,” said Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. After seizing … Read more
Two rare busts rescued from the Islamic State group’s destruction of the ancient city of Palmyra will soon be heading back to Syria, after a painstaking restoration in Italy. Recovered by Syrian troops, they had been badly disfigured with what appeared to be hammer blows and are perhaps the only such artefacts to leave the … Read more
The Islamic State (IS) group has retaken the Syrian city of Palmyra, hours after Russian air strikes appeared to have driven it back. The governor of Homs province, Talal Barazi, said government forces were now regrouping outside the ancient city, preparing to launch a fresh assault. IS held the city from May 2015 until it … Read more
A look inside the ruins after they were recaptured from so-called Islamic State in March Islamic State group fighters have re-entered Palmyra, nine months after losing the ancient Syrian desert city. Monitoring groups say militants and pro-government forces fought fiercely in the centre of Palmyra. An activist there told the BBC that the city was … Read more
Islamic State group fighters have re-entered Palmyra, nine months after losing the ancient Syrian desert city, activists say. IS held Palmyra and its nearby ruins for 10 months before it was recaptured by Syrian government forces in March. But the jihadist group launched an offensive earlier this week. Meanwhile, Russian-backed Syrian government forces are closing … Read more