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Syria’s Palmyra almost in full ISIL control: monitoring group

A handout picture issued by the official Syrian Arab News Agency on May 17, 2015, shows the ancient oasis city of Palmyra, 215 kilometers northeast of Damascus. (AFP Photo)

The ISIL Takfiri terrorists have almost fully overrun the historic Syrian city of Palmyra, a UK-based monitoring group says.

The Takfiri militants are almost in full control of Palmyra in the central Homs province, Rami Abdel Rahman, the head of the so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said on Wednesday.

All sectors of the city apart from a jail in the east and an intelligence base in the west have fallen into the hands of the terrorists, he added. 

A picture taken on March 14, 2014 shows a partial view of the ancient oasis city of Palmyra, 215 kilometers northeast of Damascus. (AFP Photo)

It is still unclear if ISIL has entered Palmyra's UNESCO-listed heritage site, which includes ancient temples and colonnaded streets, and a museum housing priceless artifacts located in the city's southwest.

Syria's antiquities chief, Mamoun Abdulkarim, has called for international action to save the city.

"If only five members of ISIL go into the ancient buildings, they'll destroy everything," he said.

Hundreds of statues and artifacts have been transferred from the city, but many others, which are too heavy to move such as massive tombs, are still there, Abdulkarim added.

A file picture taken on March 14, 2014 shows a partial view of the theater at the ancient oasis city of Palmyra, 215 kilometers northeast of Damascus. (AFP Photo)

The fighting in Palmyra is “putting at risk one of the most significant sites in the Middle East,” said UNESCO Director General Irina Bokova.

The Takfiri terrorists have razed to the ground a number of mosques in Syria and Iraq, many of them dating back to the early years of the Islamic civilization. The terrorists have also destroyed tombs belonging to revered Shia and Sunni figures.

In April, ISIL released a video showing its members destroying artifacts at Iraq’s northern ancient Assyrian city of Nimrud before blowing up part of the site. Also in February, the terrorists smashed ancient statues at the Ninawa museum in Mosul, using sledgehammers and drills.

SRK/AS/MHB


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