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"The Defense Ministry of Russia will soon propose to the US-led coalition to take part in the mine-clearing operation in Palmyra," the source said. The Russian Defense Ministry hopes that "at least some members, if not the entire coalition, will support the Russian initiative." Chief of Russia’s General Staff Valery Gerasimov said on Monday that Russia was bringing combat engineers with robots and mine-sniffing dogs to Syria. He invited other countries to join Russia’s mine-clearing effort.

In a season filled with far too much tragedy there was at least a small bit of good news this week. Syrian forces claim to have retaken the ancient city of Palmyra from ISIS. Given the historical significance of the site, this a welcome development indeed, but there are now new questions to be answered about how much destruction the terrorists inflicted on the region and what the intentions are of those who now control it. (NPR) State media are reporting that Syrian government forces are now in full control of the historic city of Palmyra, which has been...

World's quietest submarine, cruise missiles and smart bombs: The deadly arsenal Putin is using to pound Syria as Russia's awesome firepower drives Isis out of Palmyra Syrian government forces backed by heavy Russian air support have driven Islamic State out of ancient city of Palmyra Assad supported by Putin has inflicted what the army called a 'mortal blow' to militants who seized the city last year and dynamited its ancient temples Putin is using Syria as a testing ground for a terrifying new generation of weapons His warplanes, missiles and tanks, smart bombs and satellite technology have already changed the...

The first images to emerge from the ancient city of Palmyra after Syrian regime forces expelled Islamic State fighters have shown large swaths of destruction but also suggest that several important archaeological sites are intact. The extremist group had destroyed some of Palmyra’s most treasured artefacts, including the Temple of Bel and the Arch of Triumph. However, some of Palmyra’s ruins appear to have survived, including the Agora and the celebrated Roman theatre. [Maamoun] Abdelkarim, [Syria’s antiquities chief] said a team of archaeologists would go to Palmyra in the coming days to assess the damage to its monuments, and pledged...

NEXT month, the Temple of Baal will come to Times Square. Reproductions of the 50-foot arch that formed the temple’s entrance are to be installed in New York and in London, a tribute to the 2,000-year-old structure that the Islamic State destroyed last year in the Syrian town of Palmyra. The group’s rampage through Palmyra, a city that reached its peak in the second and third century A.D., enraged the world, spurring scholars and conservationists into action. Numerous nongovernmental organizations are now cataloging and mapping damaged cultural heritage sites in the region. It will be uncanny and thrilling to see...

I realize that the headline of this article sounds like it must be false, but it is actually completely true. The Temple of Baal (also known as the Temple of Bel) was a world famous landmark that was located in Palmyra, Syria. In August 2015, this temple was destroyed by ISIS, and most of the world recoiled in terror at the loss of a "cultural heritage site". In an attempt to "preserve history", two exact replicas of the 50 foot arch that stood at the entrance to the temple will be erected in April 2016 in Times Square in...

The best way to fight ISIS, according to Druze MK Ayoub Kara (Likud), is for Israel to ally itself with other countries in the area that are trying to keep the Islamist terror movement at bay. And the best country in the region to ally with, said Kara, is Jordan. This, despite the ongoing anti-Israel comments, resolutions, praise of terrorists and other actions taken by Jordanian government officials against Israelis in recent months. “Strengthening ties with Jordan is the best answer to the ISIS threat,” said Kara on Tuesday at a conference discussing opening a new direct route in the...

Russia helped annihilate the jihadis after Putin made a U-turn over his ceasefire decision. And with the help of Russia airstrikes the Syrian army had been gaining ground for several days. Putin's men hit 158 targets and annihilated more than 100 militants, according to the Russian ministry of defence. Military sources said the army have “full control” of the city known for its beautiful archeology. Syrian officials yesterday released pictures showing helicopters and tanks blasting ISIS targets. The sick terror cult seized the Unesco World Heritage site in May last year and smashed two 2,000-year-old temples and detonated dynamite blasting...

BEIRUT - Syrian government forces drove Islamic State fighters out of Palmyra on Sunday, the army said, inflicting a major defeat on the militants who seized the desert city last year and dynamited its ancient temples. The army general command said in a statement that it had restored security and stability to the city in an operation it said showed that Islamic State was beginning to retreat and collapse. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said there were still clashes on the eastern edge of Palmyra, around the prison and inside the airport, but the bulk of the Islamic State...

Moscow (AFP) - A Russian special forces officer has been killed near Syria's Palmyra, a military representative at the Russian base in Syria was quoted as saying by Russian agencies Thursday. î‚€ "An officer of Russian special operations forces was killed near Palmyra while carrying out a special task to direct Russian airstrikes at Islamic State group targets," the unnamed representative said, ...

Syrian army reaches outskirts of Islamic State-held town of Palmyra March 23, 2016 Updated 2:42 p.m. By By ALBERT AJI DAMASCUS, Syria – Syrian government forces backed by Russian airstrikes advanced swiftly in central Syria on Wednesday, seizing high ground around Palmyra and positioning themselves to recapture the historic town held by Islamic State. The troops, supported by pro-government militias, approached to within 1.8 miles of the town, according to state TV. A Lebanese television station close to Damascus broadcast footage of the troops advancing single-file through a desert as helicopter gunships provided cover. “God willing, within a few hours...

The Syria government forces have regained control of historic area of Palmyra, Syrian brigadier-general said. "The Syrian army regained control of the historic town of Tadmur (Palmyra) with small weapons," a Syrian brigadier-general told Sputnik. Thus, he emphasized that the town was taken without air assistance. Palmyra has been under Daesh control since May 2015. The terrorist group has already destroyed part of the ancient city, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Russian aircraft will contine to fly tens of missions a day against targets in Syria despite a pull out of forces announced by Vladimir Putin earlier this week, military officials in Moscow have said. Russian airstrikes are supporting a regime offensive against the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (Isil) around the ancient city of Palmyra, generals said on Friday, in an apparent signal that the Kremlin will not relinquish direct military support for Bashar Assad despite pulling out the bulk of its forces in Syria. "Conditions have been created for the encirclement and definitive defeat of Isil armed...

ISIS has claimed to have killed five Russian soldiers during fighting in the ancient city of Palmyra in Syria. In a statement, the group also said it killed several members of the Lebanese Shiite Hezbollah group and fighters belonging to the Syrian armed forces. It claimed: 'The soldiers of the caliphate, by the grace of God, have killed five Russian soldiers and six members of the Syrian army.'

Islamic State militants have blown up the Arch of Triumph, a major monument in the 2,000-year-old Roman city of Palmyra, Syria's antiquities chief said on Sunday, after they destroyed two ancient temples at the central Syrian site in recent months. Maamoun Abdulkarim told Reuters that sources in Palmyra had confirmed that the Arch of Triumph, a jewel in the exquisite collection of ruins in the oasis city, had been blown up.Islamic State militants have blown up temples at the Roman-era UNESCO World Heritage site, which it has controlled since capturing Palmyra from Syrian government forces in May and mined other...

Damascus, Aleteia (aleteia.org/ar) – The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant posted a collection of pictures yesterday that portrays the destruction of a portion of a temple in Palmyra, which is a Greco-Roman archeological site that it had captured in March.The jihadist group posted five pictures on the internet showing its fighters placing explosives within the Temple of Ba’al and on the surrounding walls. The other pictures depict powerful explosions and a pile of debris where the temple had once stood. The temple was once the most important building in Palmyra. UNOSAT satellite analysis confirms Temple of #Bel...

Moscow, September 1, Interfax - UNESCO needs to consider ways to protect cultural values amid ISIL attacks on cultural monuments in Syria's Palmyra, Russian Foreign Sergey Lavrov has said. "Under these circumstances, the task of the protection of cultural values under a relevant UN convention is very topical. I think we should think about concrete steps at the UNESCO in order to provide this position of the international community," Lavrov said at MGIMO University on September 1. "The destruction of cultural monuments in Iraq and Syria's Palmyra demonstrates that these people [ISIL fighters] not only seek to grab power on...

The monastery was originally built in the fourth century Islamists destroy 5th-century Mar Elian monasteryISIS fighters have demolished a monastery in central Syria, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.The Mar Elian monastery in the town of Qaryatain near Homs, was captured by the terrorists  from the Syrian Army two weeks ago. This week they used bulldozers to raze the holy site,Mar Elian is also where Fr Jacques Mourad was kidnapped in May. He remains one of six clergy in Syria who have been kidnapped by rebel groups, their fates unknown.Qaryatain is near a road linking the ancient...

The United States said Thursday it was concerned by the number of illegal Palestinian residential structures Israel demolished this month in the West Bank and east Jerusalem. “We are also very troubled by the recent escalation of demolitions and evictions, which include the destruction of dozens of structures and the displacement of over 150 people in the West Bank and east Jerusalem this month alone,” US State Department Spokesperson John Kirby said on Thursday. “Such demolitions and evictions are harmful and provocative and indicative of a damaging trend, particularly given settlement-related activity and continued construction in the West Bank and...

ISIS fanatics 'called people to watch' as they executed 20 local men in a Roman ampitheatre in the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra, a watchdog has claimed. The men were shot dead in the restored ruin, which had been used for an annual festival in the city, in front of the crowd on Wednesday. The murdered locals were accused of being government supporters, according to a report from the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.