Syrian army retakes Palmyra from ISIS

[Stratford57]

Syrian government forces have retaken the ancient city of Palmyra from Islamic State. The army now aims to use the desert city as a "launchpad" to expand operations against the terrorist group.

Syrian President Bashar Assad said the victory proves the success of the army's strategy in combating terrorism.

"The liberation of the historic city of Palmyra today is an important achievement and another indication of the success of the strategy pursued by the Syrian army and its allies in the war against terrorism,"he told a French delegation on Sunday, according to Syrian TV.

"Our troops have established full control of the town and are chasing the remainder of the retreating gangs of Islamic State terrorists," the Syrian army's command said

The army general command stated that Palmyra would now become“a launchpad to expand military operations”against the group in Raqqa and Deir Ezzor, Reuters reported.

Noting the significance of Palmyra, journalist Neil Clark told RT that having control of the city is "incredibly important."

The Russian Defense Ministry said that Russian warplanes carried out 158 airstrikes, hitting terrorist targets in and around the city. More than 100 extremists were killed in the bombardment, and several pieces of heavy equipment destroyed.

In a statement read on Syrian television, the military command said the recapture of Palmyra marks the beginning of the collapse of Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL). It said the success proves that the Syrian government and its allies are the only forces capable of defeating terrorism in the country.

The command went on to say that the army and its allies will continue their campaign against IS, Al-Nusra Front, and “other terrorist groups.” The Syrian government has described all armed factions fighting President Bashar Assad as terrorist groups.

The recapture of Palmyra marks the biggest reversal for IS since Russia's intervention into Syria.


Syrian army retakes Palmyra from ISIS

Palmyra ‘not just an archaeological site but a symbol of Syria’ – UNESCO

 

[Militants]

I prefer rebels or IS victory over Assad and then Kurd Government in north Syria on the way.

 

[eagle1462010]

The sorties from Russia softened the hell out of the place.......They didn't play by ROE rules there................

Now ISIS is being pushed back.......good...........slaughter them.

 

[Tehon]

The sorties from Russia softened the hell out of the place.......They didn't play by ROE rules there................

Now ISIS is being pushed back.......good...........slaughter them.

The Russians helped the Syrians capture the border region with Turkey thereby choking off ISIS supply routes.

 

[Igrok_]

good news. BTW, russian helicopters took part in this operation.

 

[Bleipriester]

I prefer rebels or IS victory over Assad and then Kurd Government in north Syria on the way.

Holy shit.

 

[montelatici]

I prefer rebels or IS victory over Assad and then Kurd Government in north Syria on the way.

Unbelievable.

 

[Hossfly]

I prefer rebels or IS victory over Assad and then Kurd Government in north Syria on the way.

Why the Kurds?

 

[Sunni Man]

No doubt the citizens are overjoyed to be ruled once again by the brutal dictator Assad. ......

 

[shadow355]

Why the Kurds?

Damn...that is a good question. ( thumbs up ).

Leave it to a old Soldier..........

Shadow 355

 

[shadow355]

No doubt the citizens are overjoyed to be ruled once again by the brutal dictator Assad. ......

Good point. Where do people get off trusting him?

Shadow 355

 

[montelatici]

Why do you have this crazy idea that the secular Syrian government is more dictatorial than the Sunni governments that impose Islamic law and oppress non-Sunnis? Why do you think the Syrian Christians support the government?

 

[Stratford57]

Russia says it will deploy bomb disposal experts and technology into Syria in the next few days to help defuse explosives in the city of Palmyra, which was recently recaptured by the Syrian government from Islamic State.

The support given by the Russians will include engineers and robots, which will be used to defuse numerous bombs and booby traps, which were left by Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) militants after they were defeated.

On Sunday, President Putin congratulated the Syrian President Bashar Assad on retaking the ancient city of Palmyra from IS, while Putin stressed the importance of preserving the UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Russia to send robots, engineers to Syria to help demine Palmyra

 

[Stratford57]

A RUSSIAN special forces commando on a Rambo-style solo mission in Syria died a "hero" after calling in an air strike on himself to wipe out a group of ISIS terrorists.

The fearless soldier was surrounded by jihadis while on a secret deployment directing aerial bombardment on targets near the ancient city of Palmrya.

Facing certain death he radioed Russian jets ordering them to attack his own position and died in the blast along with a number of ISIS fanatics.

His heroics came as an elite team of Russian "advisors" helped the Syrian army drive ISIS out of Palmyra.

A spokesmann for the Russian military confirmed: "An officer of Russian special operations forces was killed near Palmyra while carrying out a special task to direct Russian air strikes at Islamic State group targets.

"The officer was carrying out a combat task in Palmyra area for a week, identifying crucial ISIS targets and passing exact coordinates for strikes with Russian planes.

"The officer died as a hero: he drew fire onto himself after being located and surrounded by terrorists."

Russian Rambo called air strike on himself as he was surrounded by ISIS terrorists in Syria

 

[Stratford57]

The plans to restore Palmyra to its former glory are grand but feasible, if it is treated as a task of global importance, experts told RT. Russia’s State Hermitage museum has already promised to help remedy the damage suffered by the ancient Syrian city. The destruction of ancient monuments in Palmyra became an irreparable loss to human civilization, the deputy director of Russia’s State Museum of Oriental Art Tigran Mkrtychev said, joining the call for the restoration of its heritage.

Apart from UNESCO, there’s so far been little international reaction following the Syrian army’s success in retaking Palmyra.

NATO has declined to comment on the liberation of the ancient city. Apparently as a response to the lack of British officials’ reaction to the victory in Palmyra, the Russian Embassy in the UK posted a picture on Twitter saying – “keep calm and keep silent.”

Marcus Papadopoulos, Editor of Politics magazine, believes the reason why the international community is in no rush to comment on the liberation of the architectural site lies in their own ineffectiveness in fighting terrorists in Syria.

“There is an overwhelming silence in Britain and America on what was not just a magnificent victory of the Syrian army, and not just for Syria, not just for defeating terrorism, but for the civilization. The reason is America and Britain is not genuinely fighting terrorism,”Papadopoulos said.
‘Palmyra damage monstrous, but mendable’: Experts accept challenging task to restore ancient city
***************
Independent:
The biggest military defeat that Isis has suffered in more than two years. The recapture of Palmyra. And we are silent. Yes, folks, the bad guys won, didn't they? Otherwise, we would all be celebrating, wouldn't we?

Less than a week after the lost souls of the 'Islamic Caliphate' destroyed the lives of more than 30 innocent human beings in Brussels, we should - should we not? - have been clapping our hands at the most crushing military reverse in the history of Isis. But no.

Here are the Syrian army, backed, of course, by Vladimir Putin's Russkies, chucking the clowns of Isis out of town, and we daren't utter a single word to say well done

“If the Americans wanted to destroy Isis, why didn't they bomb them when they saw them?” a Syrian army general asked me, after his soldiers' defeat His son had been killed defending Homs. His men had been captured and head-chopped in the Roman ruins. And we were silent then.

Putin noticed this, and talked about it, and accurately predicted the retaking of Palmyra. His aircraft attacked Isis - as US planes did not - in advance of the Syrian army's conquest. I could not help but smile when I read that the US command claimed two air strikes against Isis around Palmyra in the days leading up to its recapture by the regime. That really did tell you all you needed to know about the American "war on terror". They wanted to destroy Isis, but not that much.

So in the end, it was the Syrian army and its Hizballah chums from Lebanon and the Iranians and the Russians who drove the Isis murderers out of Palmyra. I have written many times that the Syrian army will decide the future of Syria.

Aren't we supposed to be destroying Isis? Forget it. That's Putin's job. And Assad's. Pray for peace, folks.
Robert Fisk: Why is David Cameron silent on the recapture of Palmyra?

 

[Bleipriester]

The plans to restore Palmyra to its former glory are grand but feasible, if it is treated as a task of global importance, experts told RT. Russia’s State Hermitage museum has already promised to help remedy the damage suffered by the ancient Syrian city. The destruction of ancient monuments in Palmyra became an irreparable loss to human civilization, the deputy director of Russia’s State Museum of Oriental Art Tigran Mkrtychev said, joining the call for the restoration of its heritage.

Apart from UNESCO, there’s so far been little international reaction following the Syrian army’s success in retaking Palmyra.

NATO has declined to comment on the liberation of the ancient city. Apparently as a response to the lack of British officials’ reaction to the victory in Palmyra, the Russian Embassy in the UK posted a picture on Twitter saying – “keep calm and keep silent.”

Marcus Papadopoulos, Editor of Politics magazine, believes the reason why the international community is in no rush to comment on the liberation of the architectural site lies in their own ineffectiveness in fighting terrorists in Syria.

“There is an overwhelming silence in Britain and America on what was not just a magnificent victory of the Syrian army, and not just for Syria, not just for defeating terrorism, but for the civilization. The reason is America and Britain is not genuinely fighting terrorism,”Papadopoulos said.
‘Palmyra damage monstrous, but mendable’: Experts accept challenging task to restore ancient city
***************
Independent:
The biggest military defeat that Isis has suffered in more than two years. The recapture of Palmyra. And we are silent. Yes, folks, the bad guys won, didn't they? Otherwise, we would all be celebrating, wouldn't we?

Less than a week after the lost souls of the 'Islamic Caliphate' destroyed the lives of more than 30 innocent human beings in Brussels, we should - should we not? - have been clapping our hands at the most crushing military reverse in the history of Isis. But no.

Here are the Syrian army, backed, of course, by Vladimir Putin's Russkies, chucking the clowns of Isis out of town, and we daren't utter a single word to say well done

“If the Americans wanted to destroy Isis, why didn't they bomb them when they saw them?” a Syrian army general asked me, after his soldiers' defeat His son had been killed defending Homs. His men had been captured and head-chopped in the Roman ruins. And we were silent then.

Putin noticed this, and talked about it, and accurately predicted the retaking of Palmyra. His aircraft attacked Isis - as US planes did not - in advance of the Syrian army's conquest. I could not help but smile when I read that the US command claimed two air strikes against Isis around Palmyra in the days leading up to its recapture by the regime. That really did tell you all you needed to know about the American "war on terror". They wanted to destroy Isis, but not that much.

So in the end, it was the Syrian army and its Hizballah chums from Lebanon and the Iranians and the Russians who drove the Isis murderers out of Palmyra. I have written many times that the Syrian army will decide the future of Syria.

Aren't we supposed to be destroying Isis? Forget it. That's Putin's job. And Assad's. Pray for peace, folks.
Robert Fisk: Why is David Cameron silent on the recapture of Palmyra?

Thank you very much for this.
German media, however, when they did not celebrate the good guys´s victory in Palmyra, they nevertheless mostly reported accurately with only little use of the term "regime". Most articles and reports have completely refrained from malice and agitation against the Syrian government while they focused on the monuments.

 

[Bleipriester]

Many ISIS bombs were removed, still many more are to be removed. About 600 ISIS elements were killed during the battle for Palmyra.



150 ISIS bombs, mines defused at ancient Palmyra

 

[Stratford57]

Putin: “Before we start discussing the issues on our agenda, I would like to revisit a well-known issue – the liberation of the Syrian city of Palmyra by the Syrian Army with our most active support and participation.

First of all, I would like to congratulate our service members for making a serious contribution to the fight against terrorism. Second, there is a purely humanitarian issue – the mine clearing operations. In a telephone conversation with the Director-General of UNESCO and then with the President of Syria, we agreed that Russia will provide assistance in clearing Palmyra, approach routes to Palmyra, and, what is especially important, the historical sites, of mines.

I ask the Defence Minister – we have already discussed this, Mr Shoigu, and I know that you have already started preparations – after our meeting today, to report on what is planned for the near future and how you intend to organize the work to clear Palmyra of mines.”

Meeting of the Commission for Military Technology Cooperation with Foreign States

 

[IsaacNewton]

Palmyra dates back to the Neolithic period. The Stone Age. That these worthless scumbags would destroy any of it is a crime against humanity that will last for eternity. These are in essence people that are destroying their own ancient history.

I think once Isis is gone the world is going to find countless irreplaceable sites and artifacts gone forever. It is tragic on a hideous scale.

 

[skye]

Those savages not only destroyed grand part of the ancient site of Palmyra, but not happy with that, they beheaded Khaled Assad and posted a graphic image online showing his decapitated body strung up on a lamppost.

His crime Isis said, "were his roles in taking care of the city’s “idols”, as well as attending “infidel” conferences as a representative of Syria."

There has to be a special place in hell to these murderers.


Khaled Asaad, the Director of Antiquities and Museum in Palmyra, in front of a rare 1st century sarcophagus, one of the finest sculptures in Palmyra