Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said close to 25 air strikes have left at least 26 people dead which included 12 members of the jihadist group.
Advertisement
They say Friday’s airstrikes are some of the heaviest since the extremist group seized the ancient town May 10.
A military source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said 80 militants were killed and seven vehicles destroyed as Syrian troopers raided a gathering of militants at an air base near Latakia, located 348 kilometers (216 miles) northwest of the capital, Damascus, Syria’s official news agency SANA reported. Russian Federation has been trying to convince the West on the need to work with Syria in this effort.
A bird’s eye view of the Abu al-Duhur air base.
Palmyra has been listed as a world heritage site by UNESCO since 1980. It was further complicated when IS militants captured large parts of Iraq and Syria as part of their self-declared calyphate.
The total death toll on the government side since the seizure of the airbase is 71, according to the pro-opposition SOHR, which said that 56 soldiers have been executed in the past week.
Elsewhere, the Army of Conquest lost 17 fighters as it intensified its assault on the last two regime-held villages in the northwestern province of Idlib.
On September 9, the Syrian state-run TV said Syrian forces had evacuated the Abu-al-Duhur airfield after a two-year siege, during which supplies for the troops have to be air dropped by helicopters.
The four-and-a-half-year, multi-front Syrian conflict, has claimed more than 240,000 lives.
The situation is made more complex by military operations against ISIS inside Syria by a US-led coalition.
Advertisement
The USA government rejects the idea, advocated by Moscow, of cooperating with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to fight Islamic State, and has warned Syria not to interfere in its air campaign. “We’re looking for ways in which to find a common ground”.
