Syrian Army Retakes Palmyra Citadel, Daesh Finance Chief Killed
Local Editor
Daesh [the Arabic acronym for the Takfiri "ISIS" group] militants were on the retreat in the strategic Syrian city of Palmyra on Friday, as the United States said it probably killed several senior leaders of the militant group this week including its top finance officer.
The double blow to the hardline Takfiri group in its self-declared caliphate came three days after Daesh suicide bombers killed 31 people in Brussels, the worst such attack in Belgian history.
Syrian soldiers fighting to retake the desert city of Palmyra from Daesh insurgency recaptured its old citadel on Friday, various media reported. The citadel overlooks some of the most extensive ruins of the Roman Empire.
Many of Palmyra's temples and tombs had been dynamited by Daesh in what the United Nations [UN] described as a war crime, although television footage on Friday showed that at least some colonnades and structures still standing.
The recapture of Palmyra, which the Takfiri militants seized in May 2015, would mark the biggest reversal for Daesh in Syria.
The city controls routes east into the heartland of territory held by the militants, including province of Deir al-Zor and Daesh's de facto capital in Raqqa.
The so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said on Friday a Daesh leader was killed when his car was targeted in a strike on Raqqa on Thursday night.
It did not identify the dead militant, but US War Secretary Ash Carter said the group's top finance officer and other senior leaders were likely killed this week in a major offensive targeting its financial operation.
Carter said the United States believes it killed Haji Iman -- an alias for Abd ar-Rahman Mustafa al-Qaduli, a senior Daesh leader in charge of the group's finances as well as some plots and external affairs.
The scale of Friday's fighting for Palmyra reflected how much of a strategic prize the city represents, with jets launching dozens of airstrikes and soldiers firing mortar barrages, while Daesh militants hit back with two car bombings.
Russian warplanes continued to back up the Syrian army. Its planes carried out 41 sorties between Tuesday and Thursday in support of the Palmyra offensive and destroyed 146 targets, Russian news agencies reported on Friday, citing the Russian Defense Ministry.
Beirut-based television channel Al-Mayadeen, broadcasting from the edge of Palmyra, showed a low-flying jet carry out three airstrikes against what it said were Daesh militants withdrawing from the old citadel back into Palmyra.
"Army units took control over Palmyra's ancient citadel... after dealing with the last ISIS terrorist groups," state news agency SANA said. "They are continuing their operations to restore security and stability to the city".
A ceasefire backed by the United States and Russia covers most of Syria but not areas held by Daesh. The first truce of its kind since war began five years ago has been accompanied this month by the first peace talks attended by the Syrian government and opposition groups. Meanwhile, Damascus has turned its fire on Daesh.
Moscow is the main ally of the Syrian government, while Washington and other Western countries had backed foes trying to overthrow Syria's Assad during the five years of the war that has killed 250,000 people and led to the world's worst refugee crisis.
Furthermore, soldiers interviewed on Mayadeen and Syrian television said that the army was completing the capture of high ground overlooking Palmyra.
Syria's antiquities chief Maamoun Abdulkarim said that driving Daesh out of Palmyra would be a victory for the whole world.
"After all the tragedy we have suffered in Syria for five years, and the 10 months in Palmyra after it fell...it's the first time we feel joy," Abdulkarim told Reuters.
"We pray for victory soon, so that the damage is limited. Palmyra, under their control, was the loss of a civilization."
For his part, UN envoy Staffan de Mistura had set out a common blueprint for a political process aimed at ending the war, and said on Thursday talks would tackle the divisive issue of a post-war transition when the warring sides gather again next month.
Progress had been slow, with the government delegation and its opponents disagreeing fundamentally on the terms of such a transition, including whether Assad must leave power.
But Interfax quoted Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov on Friday as saying that Washington now understood Moscow's position that Assad's future should not be discussed at the moment.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team
