ISIS militants have re-entered Palmyra

The militants of the terrorist organization "Islamic State" captured the Syrian city of Palmyra on the afternoon of December 11. This was reported by the Associated Press with reference to Syrian opposition activists and the human rights organization Syrian Observatory of Human Rights.

According to the agency, government troops retreated from the city to the south.

The ISIS-controlled agency Amaq has spread a message about the capture of the city, reports AFP.

The Russian center for reconciliation of the warring parties in Syria reports that up to 4,000 IS fighters who were deployed from the Raqqa region are participating in a new attack on Palmyra. Syrian troops are "conducting defensive battles," Interfax quoted the report as saying .

“Despite the heavy losses in manpower and equipment, the terrorists are trying to get as close as possible and gain a foothold inside the city, since the aviation of the Russian Aerospace Forces does not strike at the residential areas of the city of Palmyra,” the Russian military said.

Update. The governor of the Syrian province of Homs, Talal Barazi, in an interview with state television, confirmed the capture of Palmyra by IS fighters.

On the morning of December 11, the Russian Defense Ministry reported that Syrian troops, with the support of Russian aviation, repelled an attack by IS militants on Palmyra. During the night, Russian aerospace forces reportedly carried out 64 strikes against ISIS in Palmyra, killing more than 300 fighters and destroying 11 tanks.

• ISIS militants launched a new attack on Palmyra, which was liberated from terrorists in March 2016, on December 8. On December 10, it was reported that the terrorists had entered the city and controlled most of it, and the Syrian army was retreating from the city.
• IS took over Palmyra in May 2015. Terrorists blew up several ancient monuments in the city, including the triumphal arch, the temple of the god Bel and the temple of Baal Shamin, as well as funerary towers. On March 24, 2016, Syrian troops occupied Palmyra, the operation was supported by the Russian Federation.
• After the liberation of Palmyra, the Mariinsky Theater Orchestra played a concert there; conductor Valery Gergiev and musicians of the Mariinsky Theater Symphony Orchestra were awarded the medal "For the Liberation of Palmyra".