Syrian troops are storming Palmyra

Syrian troops backed by Shiite militias and "Hezbollah" are preparing to take the historic center of Palmyra. Government troops are shelling positions of the terrorists in the south and west of the city and promise to squeeze these ISIS terrorists in the next few hours. Government troops and allied formations have managed to occupy the commanding heights around the city. Currently, helicopters are striking at columns of militants retreating toward the east of Syria and Iraq.

Russia has not entirely gone

The liberation of Palmyra will be the biggest success for the Syrian troops after the withdrawal of most of the Russian military contingent from Syria. It shows the high combat capability of the Syrian troops, which continues to get assistance from Russia and Iran. "Hezbollah" TV-station Al-Manar reports that Russian aviation has had some role in this battle.

The strategic importance of Palmyra

Since ancient times, Palmyra has a strategic importance for control over the region. The city is located in an oasis in the middle of the Syrian desert (and in fact in the center of Syria itself), at the crossroads of ancient trade routes, which are now the roads linking the north, south, east and west of the country.

The symbolic significance of Palmyra

Palmyra is one of the oldest centers of urban civilization and the ruins of the ancient city are in the list of World Cultural Heritage by UNESCO. On May 21st, 2015 it was captured by an armed ISIS group. They committed acts of vandalism which destroyed several monuments of world culture: the Arc de Triomphe, and the temples of Baalshamin and the supreme Semitic deity Bel. The battle for Palmyra has acquired much symbolic importance as a reflection of the struggle of world culture against barbarism.

You are here

Syrian troops are storming Palmyra