IS able to use strategically situated Palmyra as launch pad

BEIRUT: The self-styled Islamic State (IS) seized full control of the historic city of Palmyra in central Syria yesterday, just days after it captured a provincial capital in neighbouring Iraq.

The twin successes pile pressure not just on Damascus and Baghdad, but also throw doubt on US strategy to rely almost exclusively on air strikes to defeat the Sunni Muslim movement.

IS said in a statement posted by followers on Twitter it was in full charge of Palmyra, including its military bases, marking the first time it had taken a city directly from President Bashar al-Assad’s army and allied forces.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said IS now controls more than half of Syrian territory following four years of civil war.

The radical group has destroyed antiquities and monuments in Iraq, and there are fears it might now devastate Palmyra, an ancient World Heritage site and home to renowned Roman-era ruins, including well-preserved temples, colonnades and a theatre.

“This is the fall of a civilisation,” said Syria’s antiquities chief, Maamoun Abdulkarim. “Human, civilised society has lost the battle against barbarism. I have lost all hope.”

Clashes in the area since Wednesday killed at least 100 pro-government fighters, said Rami Abdulrahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

IS said retreating pro-government forces had left behind many dead, but gave no precise figures.

The assault on the city is part of a westward advance by IS that is adding to pressures on Assad’s overstretched army and pro-government militia, which have also recently lost ground in the north-west and south.

“Palmyra is very strategically situated and can now be used as a launching pad for further territorial pushes towards Homs and Damascus,” said Matthew Henman, head of IHS Jane’s Terrorism and Insurgency Centre.

Palmyra’s fall came just five days after the Islamist group seized Ramadi, capital of Iraq’s largest province, Anbar. Fighters loyal to the group have also consolidated their grip on Sirte in Libya, extending their reach in the region. The loss of Ramadi handed the central Iraq government in Baghdad its most significant setback in a year and exposed the limitations of both the Iraqi army and a campaign of US-led air strikes designed to “degrade and destroy” the IS.

The US plans to deliver 1 000 anti-tank weapons to Iraq in June to combat suicide bombings like those that helped the Islamist group grab Ramadi.

Iraq’s government has ordered Shia militia, some of which have close ties to Iran, to join the battle to retake Ramadi, raising fears of renewed sectarian strife in the country. – Reuters

Islamic State now controls more than half of Syrian territory following four years of civil war