Syrian state television said in early October that Russian warplanes, acting in coordination with the Syrian air force, had struck IS targets “in and around” the city. He added that it was hard to assess damage because of the ongoing air strikes.
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Activists said the airstrikes targeted the area around a 13th century castle on a hilltop to the west of Palmyra’s Roman-era ruins, according to the BBC.
Elsewhere in Homs province, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 10 people had been killed and several others wounded in apparent Russian strikes on Qaryatain, an IS-held town.
The ministry has recently reported a number of attacks on Daesh positions near Palmyra, always insisting that the airstrikes are carried out without causing damage to the historic site. Russia warplanes taking part in the anti-terrorist operation in Syria have flown 1,631 sorties and hit 2,084 terrorist targets since the launch of the operation, chief of the Main Department for Operations at the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, Gen Andrey Kartapolov said on Tuesday.
Russia’s military said it also struck a key Al-Nusra Front command post on a strategic hill in the coastal Latakia region.
The latest raids follow diplomatic talks in Vienna on Friday, aiming to bring the 4 year conflict to an end.
Although the talks were largely non-conclusive, the participants agreed to ask the United Nations to broke a peace deal between the government’s regime and the opposition with the aim to clear the way for a new constitution and democratic elections.
Moscow has previously denied it was targeting ancient sites in previous bombing campaigns.
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Russian Federation has been conducting precision airstrikes against ISIL positions in Syria at the request of President Bashar Assad since September 30.
