FILE -- In this April 1, 2016 file photo, soldiers look over damage at the historical Bel Temple in the ancient city of Palmyra, Homs provence, Syria. Palmyra, the archaeological gem that Islamic State fighters retook Sunday, Dec. 11, 2016, from Syrian troops, is a desert oasis surrounded by palm trees, and a UNESCO world heritage site, that boasts 2,000-year-old towering Roman-era colonnades and priceless artifacts. It is also a strategic crossroads linking the Syrian capital, Damascus, with the country's east and neighboring Iraq. (AP Photo, File)

BEIRUT (AP) — A look at Palmyra, the archaeological gem that Islamic State fighters retook Sunday from Syrian troops in a major advance after a year of setbacks in Syria and neighboring Iraq.

A desert oasis surrounded by palm trees in central Syria, Palmyra is also a strategic crossroads linking the Syrian capital, Damascus, with the country's east and neighboring Iraq. Located 155 miles (215 kilometers) east of Damascus, the city was once home to 65,000 people before the Syrian civil war began. The Islamic State group captured the city in May 2015 and held it until May 2016, when they were forced out by a Syrian and Russian military campaign. However, most Palmyra residents did not return after it was retaken by the government. Activists estimated the city is now home to a few hundred families.

A UNESCO world heritage site, Palmyra boasts 2,000-year-old towering Roman-era colonnades and priceless artifacts. Syrians affectionately refer to it as the "Bride of the Desert."

Palmyra was the capital of an Arab client state of the Roman Empire that briefly rebelled and carved out its own kingdom in the 3rd Century, led by Queen Zenobia. Before the war, it was Syria's top tourist attraction, drawing tens of thousands of visitors each year.

Palmyra was first mentioned in the archives of Mari in the 2nd millennium B.C., according to UNICEF's website. The town was the hub of a network of caravan trails that carried silks and spices from eastern Asia to the Mediterranean.

Palmyra became a prosperous region during the Hellenistic period and later became part of the Roman Empire. But its rebellious Queen Zenobia challenged Rome's authority. The city was plundered in A.D. 272 after she was captured during a long siege.

In more recent times, Palmyra has had darker associations for Syrians. It was home to the Tadmur prison, a notorious facility where thousands of opponents of President Bashar Assad's government were reportedly tortured. IS demolished the prison when it first controlled the city.

Last year, IS destroyed the Temple of Bel, which dated back to A.D. 32, and the Temple of Baalshamin, a structure of stone blocks several stories high fronted by six towering columns. The militants also blew up the Arch of Triumph, which had been built under the Roman emperor Septimius Severus between A.D. 193 and A.D. 211. Maamoun Abdulkarim, Syria's head of the Antiquities and Museums Department based in Damascus, said despite the destruction, some 80 percent of the ancient ruins remained intact.

The extremists have destroyed ancient sites across their self-styled Islamic caliphate in Syria and Iraq, viewing them as monuments to idolatry. In August, IS militants beheaded Khaled al-Asaad, an 81-year-old antiquities scholar who had devoted his life to studying Palmyra. His body was later hung from a Roman column.

Over the last year, IS has suffered a string of defeats in both Syria and Iraq, losing several towns and cities it had captured in 2014. It is now under attack in Mosul, the last major urban center it controls in Iraq. A Kurdish-led Syrian force, backed by the U.S., is also pushing toward Raqqa, the group's de-facto capital in Syria, from the north. Meanwhile, Turkey is backing Syrian opposition fighters who have reached the outskirts of al-Bab, the IS stronghold in northern Syria.

In going for Palmyra, IS picked a soft target to demonstrate that despite its battlefield losses, it retains the ability to carry out large attacks.

With its losses in Iraq and elsewhere in Syria, the militants are eyeing new terrain. Mohammed Hassan al-Homsi, a native of the city who runs Palmyra News Network, said they chose Palmyra for its desert terrain linked to Iraq's and its surrounding oil and gas fields. It is also steering away from Syria's north, where the various anti-forces have focused their fight.

The extremist group also appeared to be taking advantage of the Syrian and Russian preoccupation with Aleppo, timing its attack to coincide with a massive government offensive to capture the last remaining opposition-held neighborhoods in the northern city.</s>BEIRUT — Islamic State militants recaptured the ancient city of Palmyra from Syrian troops Sunday, according to both sides in the battle, scoring a major advance after a year of setbacks in Syria and neighboring Iraq.

In winning back Palmyra, the extremist group appeared to be taking advantage of the Syrian and Russian preoccupation with Aleppo, timing its attack to coincide with a major government offensive to capture the last remaining opposition-held neighborhoods in the northern city.

Palmyra, with its towering 2,000-year-old ruins, holds mostly symbolic meaning in the wider civil war, although its location in central Syria also gives it some strategic significance.

Islamic State militants re-entered the city Saturday for the first time since they were expelled by Syrian and Russian forces amid much fanfare nine months ago. The government’s first important win against the Islamic State group in the historic city gave Damascus the chance to try to position itself as part of the global anti-terrorism campaign.

The militants had spent 10 months in Palmyra, during which they blew up a number of temples and caused other destruction — severing the heads of statues and partially damaging two temples and famous arch.

Maamoun Abdulkarim, Syria’s official for antiquities and museums, said his department had transferred the contents of Palmyra’s museum to Damascus, but that he still worries about the safety of the ruins from the IS militants.

“I fear they will be more vengeful,” Abdulkarim told The Associated Press.

Palmyra was a major tourist attraction before Syria’s civil war began in 2011.

Sunday’s takeover came hours after government troops and Russian air raids pushed the group out the city’s perimeter. IS militants later regrouped and attacked from multiple sides, forcing government troops to retreat.

The militants went door to door, looking for any remaining forces loyal to President Bashar Assad, opposition activists in the city said.

Homs provincial Gov. Talal Barazi told the pan-Arab Mayadeen news channel that the IS attack on Palmyra is a “desperate” reaction to the Syrian government’s recent military “victories.”

Scores of Syrian troops reportedly have been killed in fighting around Palmyra in recent days. While a distraction from the battle for Aleppo, it is unlikely to affect the government’s final push on the last rebel-held neighborhoods in the northern city. By Sunday evening, there was no sign the army was shifting significant resources from Aleppo.

The government and its allies reportedly have mobilized some 40,000 fighters for Aleppo.

“I don’t think the regime would withdraw forces from Aleppo to Palmyra and risk losing Aleppo,” said Rami Abdurrahman, the head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition monitoring group. “I think the regime’s priority now is to finish the battle for Aleppo before the end of the month for sure. As for Palmyra, the whole international community would stand by it against IS.”

In the last year, IS has suffered defeats in both Syria and Iraq, losing several towns and cities it had captured in 2014.

It is now under attack in Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city and the last major urban center it controls in the country. Since the Mosul offensive began nearly two months ago, Iraqi and U.S.-led coalition forces have killed or gravely wounded more than 2,000 IS fighters, said Lt. Gen. Stephen Townsend, the top U.S. commander in Iraq. He made his remarks at a news conference with U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter at Qayara air base in Iraq.

On Saturday, Carter announced he is sending another 200 troops to Syria to train and advise local fighters combatting IS. There are already 300 U.S. troops authorized for the Syria effort, and some 5,000 in Iraq.

A Kurdish-led Syrian force, backed by the U.S., is also pushing toward Raqqa, the group’s de-facto capital in Syria, from the north. Meanwhile, Turkey is backing Syrian opposition fighters who have reached the outskirts of al-Bab, the IS stronghold in northern Syria.

In going for Palmyra, IS picked a soft target to demonstrate that it retains the ability to carry out large attacks despite its battlefield losses.

Mohammed Hassan al-Homsi, who runs the Palmyra News Network, said IS was steering away from northern Syria, where Turkey and the anti-IS international coalition have focused their fight. The militants are eyeing new territory, and they chose Palmyra for its desert terrain linked to Iraq and its surrounding oil and gas fields, al-Homsi said.

The state news agency SANA, quoting an unidentified military official, reported that the militant group received reinforcements from Raqqa.

Russia’s Defense Ministry put some of the blame on the coalition, saying it had scaled down its operation against Raqqa and allowed thousands of IS fighters to escape Mosul. The ministry said more than 4,000 militants have been deployed for the Palmyra takeover, implying those attacking the city recently had left Mosul.

The Observatory and the Palmyra Coordination group said IS militants used a multipronged assault, forcing government forces to retreat south. A map distributed by the Observatory shows the IS-controlled areas extend east, south and north of Palmyra. They encompass a number of strategic hills around the city and expand the group’s presence in rural parts of Homs province, Syria’s largest, which is mostly under government control.

Osama al-Khatib of the activist-run Palmyra Coordination group, which keeps in touch with residents, said remaining government and allied troops were escaping from the southwestern edge of the city, where the ancient ruins are. The few remaining families also are trying to leave, he said.

Al-Homsi’s Palmyra News Network said intense airstrikes followed the IS takeover. The group said IS fired on fleeing civilian.

In a video by the IS-linked Aamaq news agency, IS fighters were shown roaming a main square that appeared deserted below the citadel that overlooks the ruins and the Palmyra Museum.

Russia had earlier said it repelled an IS attack, launching 64 airstrikes overnight that killed 300 militants. But hours later, the activists said IS had seized a castle just outside the town that overlooks its famed Roman-era ruins.

Expelling the IS militants last year was seen as a major triumph for Assad’s forces, which previously had little success against the extremists.

The government and its Russian allies have since focused on the opposition in Damascus and Aleppo. After tightening the siege on eastern Aleppo, government and allied troops have been steadily carving into the rebel-held enclave since late November.

Of the original 17 square miles of rebel-held area, only 4 square miles remain in opposition hands, Syrian media said.</s>BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian rebels retreated from former strongholds in eastern Aleppo in a "terrifying" collapse Monday, holding onto a small sliver of territory packed with fighters and thousands of civilians as government troops pressed on with their rapid advance.

The Syrian military said it had gained control of 99 percent of the former opposition enclave in eastern Aleppo, signaling an impending end to the rebels' four-year hold over parts of the city as the final hours of battle played out.

"The situation is very, very critical," said Ibrahim al-Haj of the Syrian Civil Defense, volunteer first responders who operate in rebel-held areas. He said he was seeking shelter for himself and his family, fearing clashes or capture by the government.

Retaking Aleppo, which has been divided between rebel- and government-controlled zones since 2012, would be President Bashar Assad's biggest victory yet in the country's civil war. But it does not end the conflict: Significant parts of Syria are still outside government control and huge swaths of the country are a devastated waste-land. More than a quarter of a million people have been killed.

On Sunday, the Islamic State group re-occupied the ancient town of Palmyra, taking advantage of the Syrian army and its Russian backers' preoccupation with the fighting in Aleppo. On Monday, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said IS fighters were on the verge of imposing a siege on a nearby army base known as T4.

The IS recapture of Palmyra nine months after it was retaken by Syrian government and Russian troops led to mutual recriminations between Western officials and Moscow.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault accused Russia of "pretending to fight terrorism" while it concentrated on Aleppo, leaving room for the militants to retake Palmyra. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov lashed back, accusing the U.S.-led coalition of orchestrating the Palmyra takeover "in order to give a respite to the bandits sitting in eastern Aleppo."

In Aleppo, staff members of the last remaining clinic in rebel-held territory huddled in a shelter as Syrian government forces pushed in. "Those killed and wounded are left on the streets," said the clinic's administrator, Mohammed Abu Rajab.

"The collapse is terrifying," said Bassam Haj Mustafa, a rebel spokesman in contact with fighters in the city. Opposition fighters were "doing their best to defend what is left," he said.

Rami Abdurrahman, who heads the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said more than 60 civilians and fighters were killed in rebel-held neighborhoods of Aleppo on Monday alone.

Russia, a key ally of Assad, refused an American proposal for a temporary halt to the fighting to allow the safe departure of those remaining in rebel-held areas, said a U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. The proposal came during weekend talks in Geneva between U.S. and Russian experts that had been billed as an 11th-hour attempt to ease Aleppo's endgame.

Osama Abo Zayd, a legal adviser to the Free Syrian Army rebel coalition, said some fighters had agreed to evacuate but that the Russians had demanded that all militants surrender, something he said was impossible.

"This pushes us to fight to the last breath despite what we have to face," he said.

Live footage aired Monday on Syrian state TV showed scores of people waving Syrian flags and posters of Assad in the streets of the city's government controlled sector, celebrating what they called "the victories of the Syrian Arab army against terrorism."

The loss of Aleppo would mark the greatest defeat for the rebels since the conflict began in 2011. The insurgents still control northwestern Idlib province as well as scattered patches of territory elsewhere in the country.

Earlier Monday, Syrian troops and allied Shiite militiamen from Lebanon, Iraq and Iran captured Sheikh Saeed, a sprawling neighborhood in eastern Aleppo. The military also claimed to have retaken al-Fardous, one of the most populous districts.

Tens of thousands of civilians have fled to government-held western Aleppo since the offensive began last month, but tens of thousands of others are believed to remain in the city's east.

A rebel fighter, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals, said most of the remaining civilians were massed in two or three neighborhoods, raising the specter of mass casualties if they are targeted by airstrikes or artillery. He said the collapse of the Sheik Saeed neighborhood meant the loss of the rebel enclave's last mill and grain warehouse. A map distributed by the Syrian military showed rebel control limited to a small sliver of territory spread across six neighborhoods in the city center. The offensive began on Nov. 26, and followed an intensive aerial campaign that knocked out most of the medical facilities in eastern Aleppo, which has been besieged by government forces since July. Associated Press writers Albert Aji in Damascus, Syria, Jamey Keaten in Geneva and Dusan Stojanovic in Serbia, Belgrade, contributed to this report.</s>Syrian news agency SANA reported that over 4,000 militants swarmed the city from "various directions," despite having suffered heavy losses from bombardments by the Syrian air force. The Russian Defense Ministry had earlier reported that its aircraft had also taken part in the air campaign.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) confirmed that Palmyra had fallen to ISIS on Sunday after Syrian armed forces pulled out from the desert city, the organization said.

"Despite the ongoing air raids, IS retook all of Palmyra after the Syrian army withdrew south of the city," said Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman, using another acronym for the group.

ISIS' own media wing, the Amaq news agency, also reported that the jihadist group's forces had regained "full control" of the city.

How to rebuild a war zone: The vision of a young architect in Syria ISIS first seized control of Palmyra, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, in May 2015. Syrian government forces recaptured it in March this year. But on Saturday, ISIS had made new inroads in the city, taking neighborhoods and key sites as Syrian troops focused on a ground operation in the city of Aleppo, SOHR said. Sana added that the jihadist group had transported troops in from Raqqa, its de facto capital in northern Syria, and the city of Deir Ezzor in the country's east. ISIS fighters had seized almost the entire city Saturday before Russian warplanes began an intense bombardment, forcing the militants to withdraw to orchards and towns on Palmyra's outskirts. Before: The ruins of the 2,000-year-old Temple of Baalshamin are seen in Palmyra, Syria, in 2007. The ISIS militant group took over the ancient city last year and razed parts of its The ruins of the 2,000-year-old Temple of Baalshamin are seen in Palmyra, Syria, in 2007. The ISIS militant group took over the ancient city last year and razed parts of its World Heritage Site. Syrian government forces recaptured the ancient city from the terror group in March 2016. Click through to see the landmarks before and after ISIS' occupation. After: A Syrian government soldier walks near what's left of the Temple of Baalshamin on Sunday, March 27. Syrian forces retook the city days before, but damage had already been done by ISIS. UNESCO says it plans to evaluate the extent of A Syrian government soldier walks near what's left of the Temple of Baalshamin on Sunday, March 27. Syrian forces retook the city days before, but damage had already been done by ISIS. UNESCO says it plans to evaluate the extent of Palmyra's damage soon. Many of the structures -- which date from the first and second centuries and marry Greco-Roman techniques with local traditions and Persian influences -- remain in place, bolstering hopes that ISIS didn't completely raze the world heritage site. Before: The Arch of Triumph in 2006. After: The Arch of Triumph on March 27. Before: The Temple of Bel in 2008. After: The Temple of Bel on March 27. Destroyed statues are seen inside the damaged Palmyra Museum on March 27. Many statues in the museum had their faces chipped off -- in keeping with strict Sharia interpretations of the depiction of human forms. Before ISIS invaded, authorities took what they could from the museum. But larger items and those fixed to walls had to be left behind. The Syrian directorate-general of antiquities and monuments was positive that the condition of artifacts meant that they could be restored and their "historic value" returned, according to a translation of an article on the department's website. ISIS took over Palmyra in May. Palmyra was a caravan oasis when Romans overtook it in the mid-first century. In the centuries that followed, the area "stood at the crossroads of several civilizations" with its art and architecture mixing Greek, Roman and Persian influences, according to UNESCO. Russia's Defense Ministry said its jets had delivered 64 airstrikes overnight and claimed to have killed 300 militants in the raid. "During the night, Syrian government forces, actively supported by the Russian Aerospace Forces, repelled all attacks by terrorists on Palmyra. The attacking side actively used car bombs, armor and rocket artillery systems," the ministry told the state-run Sputnik news agency. "Eleven battle tanks and infantry fighting vehicles, 31 cars with heavy machine guns, and over 300 militants were destroyed." ISIS demolished many of the city's ancient treasures, including the 1,800-year-old Arch of Triumph and the nearly 2,000-year-old Temple of Baalshamin, as well as the Temple of Bel. The group beheaded the antiquities expert who looked after the ruins. Syria said ISIS also destroyed two Muslim holy sites: a 500-year-old shrine and a tomb where a descendant of the Prophet Mohammed's cousin was reportedly buried. Palmyra was a caravan oasis when the Romans overtook it in the middle of the first century. In the centuries that followed, the area "stood at the crossroads of several civilizations," with its art and architecture mixing Greek, Roman and Persian influences, according to UNESCO, the UN agency that documents the world's most important cultural and natural sites. The woman documenting the 'Humans of Damascus'</s>A still image taken from a video released by Islamic State-affiliated Amaq news agency, on December 11, 2016, purports to show an Islamic State fighter shooting near what is said to be Palmyra. Handout via REUTERS TV

BEIRUT (Reuters) - The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said there had been a suspected gas attack in Islamic State-held territory near Palmyra on Monday, amid heavy aerial bombardment of the same area which together killed at least 53 people.

Citing local sources near the site of the attack in eastern Hama province, northwest of the ancient city of Palmyra, the Observatory said there were cases of suffocation and that dozens had been wounded during heavy rocket fire on the area.

The dead included 28 children, the Observatory said.

Local sources had reported seeing dead bodies with no visible injuries, said the Observatory, a British-based group that monitors the war in Syria through a network of contacts across the country.

The reported attack came from the air and took place near the town of Uqairabat, which lies on a main road leading south into Palmyra from government-held territory, the Observatory said, without specifying who might have been responsible.

Amaq, a news service linked to Islamic State, said in an online statement that 20 people had died and around 200 were injured from breathing problems "as a result of a Russian air attack with sarin gas".

Ahmad al-Dbis, of the Union of Medical Care and Relief Organizations (UOSSM), said about 86 people had died, and about 250 were injured in the attacks on Monday.

UOSSM is a coalition of international aid agencies which funds hospitals in Syria. It used to work with staff in the area of the attack before Islamic State took over.

Both the Syrian army and Russia have denied using chemical weapons.

U.N. investigators established that sarin gas was used in parts of the rebel-held Ghouta suburbs of the Syrian capital Damascus in 2013. The United States accused Syria's government of conducting the attack, which it estimated killed around 1,400 people, but Damascus denied responsibility and blamed rebels.

A United Nations investigation this year found that the Syrian military had used chlorine in attacks on rebels and that Islamic State had also used chemical weapons in attacks.

Damascus has said that the conclusions of that investigation were wrong.

On Sunday, Islamic State militants recaptured Palmyra despite dozens of Russian air strikes attempting to push them back. It had previously been driven from the city in March.</s>A man on a wheelchair flees with others into the remaining rebel-held areas of Aleppo, Syria, on Friday (Reuters photo)

ALEPPO — The Syrian army tightened its grip on Saturday on rebels besieged in Aleppo along with thousands of civilians but suffered a setback as extremists re-entered the ancient desert city of Palmyra.

Air strikes pummelled the shrinking rebel enclave in east Aleppo as US Secretary of State John Kerry said the Syrian regime's "indiscriminate bombing" amounted to crimes against humanity.

Western powers meeting in Paris called for peace talks to resume and for civilians to be allowed to leave Aleppo, where tens of thousands have already fled the offensive.

The diplomatic flurry came as a US-backed alliance announced it would launch the second phase of its battle for the Daesh terror group’s de facto Syrian capital of Raqqa further east.

Washington announced it was sending an additional 200 troops to support that offensive against Daesh.

The three-week-old assault by Syria’s Russian-backed regime aimed at retaking all of Aleppo has triggered mounting international outrage.

Speaking in Paris, Kerry said the regime’s “indiscriminate bombing” of Aleppo amounted to “war crimes” and “crimes against humanity” and he called for Russia and Assad’s other backers Iran to show “a little grace” and help end it.

American and Russian officials were also due to gather in Geneva for what Kerry called a bid to stop the city from “being absolutely, completely, destroyed”.

Aleppo has witnessed some of the most brutal violence of Syria’s nearly six-year war.

In less than a month, forces loyal to President Bashar Assad have overrun around 85 per cent of east Aleppo, a rebel stronghold since 2012.

UN Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura said the world is watching “the last steps” in the Aleppo battle and evacuating civilians must be a priority.

Air strikes and regime rocket fire battered the last remaining rebel districts Saturday, the Syrian observatory for Human Rights said.

The strikes were so intense that windows in the west rattled and plumes of smoke could be seen from across the city’s skyline.

“The bombing is unreal,” said Ibrahim Abu Al Leith, spokesman for the White Helmets rescue force inside Aleppo, speaking from one of the last rebel-controlled zones in Aleppo’s southeast.

“The streets are full of people under the rubble. They are dying because we can’t get them out,” he told AFP.

The observatory said nine civilians were killed Saturday by rebel rocket fire into government-controlled districts, taking to 129 people, including 39 children, the number killed there by rebel fire since November 15.

Another 413 civilians, among them 45 children, have been killed in east Aleppo in the same period.

With the fighting intensifying after a brief respite, the UN General Assembly demanded an immediate ceasefire and urgent aid deliveries, in a resolution adopted by a strong majority.

But both Moscow and Damascus have rejected talk of a ceasefire without a rebel withdrawal — a demand that opposition groups have refused.

After meeting opposition representatives on Saturday, French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said the opposition was willing to resume peace talks “without pre-conditions”.

However, a diplomatic source told AFP the opposition required a political transition in Syria before it would agree to take part.

“There can be no military solution in Syria,” British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said in Paris, urging “a return to a political process with the credibility necessary for all parties to commit to an end to all the fighting”.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said: “We demand that the regime, but also Iran and Russia, let people leave the conflict zone.”

The observatory said another 2,000 civilians fled Aleppo’s remaining rebel-held districts Saturday.

State news agency SANA gave a number of 3,000, and said they had been taken to the temporary shelter in Jibrin, about 10 kilometres east of the city.

The UN said Friday it had received reports of rebels blocking some from leaving and of reprisals against residents who asked armed groups to leave.

It has also expressed concern about reports that hundreds of men had gone missing after fleeing to government-held territory.

The fall of east Aleppo would be the biggest blow for the rebels since the war began in 2011.

It began as a widespread protest movement against Assad’s regime but has since evolved into an all-out war that has seen extremists such as Daesh rise to prominence.

Daesh militants have re-entered Syria’s famed ancient desert city of Palmyra from which they were driven out eight months ago, the observatory’s Rami Abdel Rahman said.

“[Daesh] entered Palmyra on Saturday and now occupies its northwest. There is also fighting with the army in the city centre,” he said.

In May last year, Daesh seized several towns in Homs province including Palmyra, which is on UNESCO’s world heritage list. They caused extensive damage to many ancient sites there before being ousted in March by Syrian regime forces backed by Russia.</s>The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human rights said the militants had entered Palmyra after they had taken strategic heights near the city and captured the northern part of the city and mountains around it.

The Syrian army earlier said it had sent reinforcements to Palmyra, to help the army defend the city in what some rebels said were coming from Aleppo and forcing the Syrian government to divert troops from the city where the army and Iranian backed militias were on the verge of a major victory against rebels.

A statement by Islamic State's news agency Amaq said the group had taken the strategic Jabal al Tar and Jabal Antara mountains that overlook the city in some of the heaviest fighting since the group lost the city.

The militants were pushing towards the T4 airbase, one of Syria's major military bases, near Palmyra city and which Russian forces have been using to support the Syrian army.

Islamic State's assault, which began late on Thursday, has killed dozens of Syrian soldiers and quickly taken over grain silos and control of some oil and gas fields around Palmyra, monitoring group the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

The U.S.-led coalition which is separately fighting the militants said late on Friday it had taken out 168 IS oil tanker trucks near Palmyra in a large air raid.</s>BEIRUT | Islamic State militants re-occupied Palmyra on Sunday, taking the ancient central city from government troops in a major advance after a year of setbacks in Syria and neighboring Iraq, a Syrian government official and the group said.

In retaking Palmyra, the extremist group appeared to be taking advantage of the Syrian and Russian preoccupation with Aleppo, timing its attack to coincide with a massive government offensive to capture the last remaining opposition-held neighborhoods in the northern city.

This Thursday, April 14, 2016, file photo shows the ancient city of Palmyra in the central city of Homs, Syria, Thursday, April 14, 2016. Russia says its air force has helped Syrian troops repulse an Islamic State attack on Palmyra, but opposition activists say the extremists have seized areas on the outskirts of the town, including a historic castle that overlooks ancient ruins. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar, File) This file photo taken Friday, April 8, 2016 and provided by Russian Defense Ministry press service, shows the ancient ruins in Palmyra, Syria. Russia says its air force has helped Syrian troops repulse an Islamic State attack on Palmyra, but opposition activists say the extremists have seized areas on the outskirts of the town, including a historic castle that overlooks ancient ruins. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service Photo via AP, File) This image posted online on Saturday, Dec. 10, 2016, by supporters of the Islamic State militant group on an anonymous photo sharing website, purports to show a convoy of vehicles of IS driving in a desert area of east of Palmyra city, in Homs, Syria. Syrian opposition activists say the Islamic State group has regained control of the ancient town of Palmyra despite a wave of Russian airstrikes in a major advance after a year of setbacks for the group in Syria and Iraq. The Arabic caption reads, "Islamic Caliphate soldiers head to the bases of the Nussayari (derogative for Alawite Syrian) in the deserted base near T-4 military air base." (Militant Photo via AP) This image posted online on Saturday, Dec. 10, 2016, by supporters of the Islamic State militant group on an anonymous photo sharing website, purports to show a gunman firing an anti-tank missile at Syrian troops north of Palmyra city, in Homs Provence, Syria. Syrian opposition activists say the Islamic State group has regained control of the ancient town of Palmyra despite a wave of Russian airstrikes in a major advance after a year of setbacks for the group in Syria and Iraq. The Arabic caption reads, "The moment of targeting checkpoints of the Nussayari, (derogative for Alawite Syrian) army with a guided missile in Jazal area." (Militant Photo via AP) This image posted online on Saturday, Dec. 10, 2016, by supporters of the Islamic State militant group on an anonymous photo sharing website, purports to show a tank operated by the group firing at Syrian troops east of Palmyra city, in Homs provence, Syria. Syrian opposition activists say the Islamic State group has regained control of the ancient town of Palmyra despite a wave of Russian airstrikes in a major advance after a year of setbacks for the group in Syria and Iraq. The Arabic caption reads, "Targeting checkpoints and bases of the Nussayari," a derogative term for for Alawite Syrians, "with tank fire inside the deserted base." (Militant Photo via AP) This image posted online on Saturday, Dec. 10, 2016, by supporters of the Islamic State militant group on an anonymous photo sharing website, purports to show a gun-mounted vehicle operated by the group firing at Syrian troops north of Palmyra city, in Homs, Syria. Syrian opposition activists say the Islamic State group has regained control of the ancient town of Palmyra despite a wave of Russian airstrikes in a major advance after a year of setbacks for the group in Syria and Iraq. The Arabic caption reads: "Targeting checkpoints of the Nussayari (derogative for Alawite Syrian) army in Jazal with heavy weapons." (Militant Photo via AP) This image made from militant video posted online by the Aamaq News Agency, a media arm of the Islamic State group on Saturday, Dec. 10, 2016, purports to show gun-mounted vehicles operated by the group firing at Syrian troops in the Hayan mountain south of Palmyra, in Homs province, Syria. Syrian opposition activists say the Islamic State group has regained control of the ancient town of Palmyra despite a wave of Russian airstrikes in a major advance after a year of setbacks for the group in Syria and Iraq. (Militant Video via AP) This image made from militant video posted online by the Aamaq News Agency, a media arm of the Islamic State group, purports to show a general view of the ancient ruins of the city of Palmyra, in Homs province, Syria, Sunday, Dec. 11, 2016. Syrian opposition activists say the Islamic State group has regained control of the ancient town of Palmyra despite a wave of Russian airstrikes in a major advance after a year of setbacks for the group in Syria and Iraq. (Militant video via AP)

Palmyra, with its towering 2,000-year-old ruins, holds mostly symbolic meaning in the wider Syrian civil war, although its location in central Syria gives it some strategic significance as well.

Islamic State militants re-entered the city on Saturday for the first time since they were expelled by Syrian and Russian forces amid much fanfare nine months ago. The government’s first important win against the Islamic State group in the internationally renowned ancient city gave Damascus the chance to try to position itself as part of the global anti-terrorism campaign.

The militants had spent 10 months in Palmyra, during which they dynamited a number of temples and destroyed other artifacts.

Sunday’s takeover came hours after government troops and Russian air raids pushed the group out the city’s parameters. IS militants then regrouped and attacked the city from multiple fronts, forcing government troops to retreat. Palmyra opposition activists said the militants were going door to door in the city, looking for remnants of government forces.

Homs Province Governor Talal Barazi told the pan-Arab Mayadeen news channel that the IS attack on Palmyra is a “desperate” reaction to the Syrian government military “victories” on the ground. He said the forces that support terrorism including western countries, Saudi Arabia and Qatar wanted to “realize some type of gain” and chose Palmyra because of its international reputation.

Scores of Syrian troops have reportedly been killed in fighting around Palmyra in the last few days. While the battles are a distraction from the fight in Aleppo, they are unlikely to affect the government’s final push on the last rebel-held Aleppo neighborhoods. By Sunday evening, there was no sign that the army was shifting significant resources away from Aleppo for the fighting in central Syria.

The government and its allies have reportedly mobilized some 40,000 fighters for Aleppo.

“I don’t think the regime would withdraw forces from Aleppo to Palmyra and risk losing Aleppo,” said Rami Abdurrahman, the head of the opposition monitoring group the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. “I think the regime’s priority now is to finish the battle for Aleppo before the end of the month for sure. As for Palmyra, the whole international community would stand by it against IS.”

Over the last year, IS has suffered a string of defeats in both Syria and Iraq, losing several towns and cities it had captured in 2014. It is now under attack in Mosul, the last major urban center it controls in Iraq. A Kurdish-led Syrian force, backed by the U.S., is also pushing toward Raqqa, the group’s de-facto capital in Syria, from the north. Meanwhile, Turkey is backing Syrian opposition fighters who have reached the outskirts of al-Bab, the IS stronghold in northern Syria.

In going for Palmyra, IS picked a soft target to demonstrate that despite its battlefield losses, it retains the ability to carry out large attacks.

Mohammed Hassan al-Homsi, a native of the city who runs Palmyra News Network, said IS is steering away from north Syria where the anti-IS international coalition and Turkey have focused their fight. With its losses in Iraq and elsewhere in Syria, the militants are eyeing new terrain. They chose Palmyra for its desert terrain linked to Iraq’s and its surrounding oil and gas fields, al-Homsi said.

State news agency SANA, quoting an unnamed military official, reported that the militant group received reinforcements from Raqqa, enabling it to attack with “large numbers” against military checkpoints around the city.

Russia’s Defense Ministry laid some of the blame at the feet of the U.S.-led coalition, saying it had scaled down its operation against Raqqa and allowed thousands of IS fighters to escape from Mosul. The ministry statement said more than 4,000 Islamic State fighters have been deployed for the Palmyra takeover, implying that the militants attacking Palmyra had recently left Mosul.

The Observatory and the Palmyra Coordination group said IS militants fought their way into the city in a multi-pronged assault, forcing government forces to retreat to the south. A map distributed by the Observatory shows the areas controlled by IS to extend east, south and north of Palmyra, encompassing a number of strategic hills around the city and expanding the group’s presence in rural Homs. Palmyra lies in Syria’s largest province, Homs, which is mostly under government control.

Osama al-Khatib, of the activist-run Palmyra Coordination group which keeps in touch with residents in the city, said remaining government and allied troops were escaping from the southwestern edge of the city where the ancient ruins are. He said the few remaining families in the city are also attempting to escape. Al-Homsi’s Palmyra News Network said intensive airstrikes followed the IS takeover of the city. The group said IS fired on fleeing civilians while the group expanded its presence in rural areas around Palmyra.

In a video by the IS-linked Aamaq news agency, IS fighters were shown roaming a main square in the city that appears deserted at the foothills of the citadel that overlooks the ruins and the Palmyra Museum.

Russia had earlier claimed to have repelled an IS attack on Palmyra, saying it had launched 64 airstrikes overnight that killed 300 militants. But hours later, the activists said IS had seized a castle just outside the town that overlooks its famed Roman-era ruins.

Palmyra was a major tourist attraction before the civil war broke out in 2011 and is home to world-famous Roman ruins.

The capture of Palmyra last year by Syrian troops and Russia air force was seen as a major triumph for the government, which had previously had little success in battling the extremist group. After taking Palmyra, the two states turned their attention to wiping out the internal opposition in Damascus and Aleppo. After tightening the siege on the eastern part of Aleppo city, the most prized urban stronghold for the opposition, government and allied troops have been steadily carving into the besieged enclave in a ground offensive that began in late November.

Syrian media reported Sunday that of the original 45 square kilometers (17 square miles) rebel-held enclave, only 7 square kilometers (4 square miles) remain in opposition hands.

Associated Press writers Zeina Karam in Beirut, Howard Amos and Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow and Albert Aji in Damascus, Syria contributed to this report.</s>Aleppo: Syrian rebels have received a US-backed proposal to leave Aleppo along with civilians under safe passage guaranteed by Russia, rebel officials said as government forces closed in on Sunday, but Moscow denied a deal had been reached.

If the proposal were to be taken up by all sides, it would end four years of fighting in the city, and months of siege and intense bombardment that have created a humanitarian crisis - particularly in rebel territory that has now shrunk to a small pocket crammed with civilians.

Three officials with insurgent groups in Aleppo told Reuters that a letter outlining the proposal had been received, offering an "honourable" departure for the rebels to a place of their choice.

Rebel groups have yet to respond. But if fully accepted, the proposal would give Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his military coalition of Russia, Iran and Shi'ite militias their greatest triumph in the civil war against the rebels who have fought for nearly six years to unseat him.

However, the sudden recapture by the Islamic State of the ancient desert city of Palmyra on Sunday after a much-trumpeted army victory there in March has shown how difficult Assad may find it even after Aleppo to restore his rule across Syria.

Asked whether they had been contacted by the United States and Russia over talks between the two powers in Geneva to find a way out of the crisis, one of the officials with rebel groups that are present in Aleppo said:

"They sent us a letter, they are saying to safeguard the civilians ... you can leave in an honourable way to any place you choose and the Russians will pledge publicly that nobody will be harmed or stopped," said one of the officials. "We have yet to give a response."

A second official said a document "is being proposed to the factions, the fundamental thing in it is the departure of the all the fighters in an honourable way".

However, Russia swiftly said it had not reached any agreement with the United States on a proposal to withdraw fighters from Aleppo and added that the Geneva talks were continuing.

Moscow was working to create the necessary conditions for the safe extraction of people from Aleppo, said Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov.

"The issue of withdrawing militants is the subject of separate agreements. This agreement has not yet been reached, largely because the United States insists on unacceptable terms," he said in comments reported by RIA news agency.

United Nations special Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura had no comment on the report, but some were sceptical that the proposal could succeed. "With all previous commitments reneged on by (the Syrian) regime/Russia it is difficult to see how rebels are to trust this offer of safe exit," one former Western envoy in Syria told Reuters in Geneva.

As the army swept through east Aleppo in the past two weeks, taking three quarters of rebel ground, tens of thousands fled the fighting, some to government-held areas and others deeper into the insurgent pocket.

New army gains on Sunday south of Aleppo's historic citadel appeared to bring victory closer for Assad, with a rebel official saying world powers seemed to be presenting his side with a choice of "death or surrender".

The Islamic State attack on Palmyra, 200 km (120 miles) to the southeast, threatens to inflict a serious blow on both Damascus and Moscow.

Syrian state radio reported the army had evacuated its positions inside Palmyra, whose Roman-era ruins have become an emblem of the conflict. They were redeploying around the city.

Analysts have warned that even if Assad defeats the main rebellion, he may still face years of guerrilla insurgency and bombing attacks as he tries to reassert his authority.

Islamic State seized Palmyra in May 2015, one of its last major conquests after nearly a year of advances in Syria and neighbouring Iraq that took advantage of the region's chaos.

Its destruction of some of the best-known ruins and killing of the leading archaeologist in the city provoked global outrage and the army's recapture of Palmyra was presented by Damascus and Moscow as vindicating Russia's entry into the war.

Islamic State has suffered a string of setbacks since late last year, losing its once long stretch of territory on the border with Turkey, an important source of supplies and recruits, as well as the city of Manbij.

The group is fighting an assault on its most important possession in Iraq, the city of Mosul. It is also under attack north of Raqqa, its Syrian capital, following a series of air strikes that have killed some of its most important leaders.

Russian news agencies reported that air strikes had killed 300 militants overnight near Palmyra but that more than 4,000 fighters had still managed to launch the attack on the city.

Under the terms of the proposed deal, rebels could leave Aleppo with light weapons. It would be implemented over a 48-hour period and oversight would be sought from the U.N.

Fighters from the hardline jihadist group Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, formerly known as the Nusra Front until it broke allegiance to al Qaeda in July, would have to go to Idlib. Other fighters could choose separate destinations, including near the Turkish border northeast of Aleppo.

There was no immediate comment from Damascus on the proposal.

Heavy shelling and air raids pounded Aleppo's rebel enclave from midnight on Saturday and throughout Sunday morning, a Reuters reporter in the city said, with explosions at a rate of more than one a minute. Gunfire was also heard.

Thousands of refugees are still pouring from Aleppo's areas of fighting. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitoring group, said more than 120,000 civilians had left the eastern part of the city as the government advance closed in, but that tens of thousands remained.

The mostly Sunni rebels include groups supported by the United States, Turkey and Gulf monarchies, but also some jihadist factions that receive no assistance from the West.

The army seized the al-Maadi district on Sunday morning before rebels were able to return and continue fighting there, said the Jabha Shamiya official.

A Syrian military source said the army and its allies had captured the al-Asila and Aaajam districts, southeast of Aleppo's ancient citadel, as well as the southern portion of the Karam al-Daadaa neighbourhood.

The Observatory also said the army had advanced in those areas.

Reuters reporters on a tour of Old City districts captured by the army saw how its historic covered market had been pounded, with ancient quarters reduced to a warren of defensive positions daubed with rebel slogans.

"Embrace death for Aleppo" was one.

State television showed footage of the east Aleppo fighting: a tank moving slowly along a street as soldiers ran alongside it, smoke and dust billowing around them.</s>This image made from militant video posted online by the Aamaq News Agency, a media arm of the Islamic State group, purports to show a general view of the ancient ruins of the city of Palmyra, in Homs province, Syria, Sunday, Dec. 11, 2016. Syrian opposition activists say the Islamic State group has regained control of the ancient town of Palmyra despite a wave of Russian airstrikes in a major advance after a year of setbacks for the group in Syria and Iraq. (Militant Video via AP)

BEIRUT (AP) — Islamic State militants recaptured the ancient city of Palmyra from Syrian troops Sunday, according to both sides in the battle, scoring a major advance after a year of setbacks in Syria and neighboring Iraq.

In winning back Palmyra, the extremist group appeared to be taking advantage of the Syrian and Russian preoccupation with Aleppo, timing its attack to coincide with a major government offensive to capture the last remaining opposition-held neighborhoods in the northern city.

Palmyra, with its towering 2,000-year-old ruins, holds mostly symbolic meaning in the wider civil war, although its location in central Syria also gives it some strategic significance.

Islamic State militants re-entered the city Saturday for the first time since they were expelled by Syrian and Russian forces amid much fanfare nine months ago. The government's first important win against the Islamic State group in the historic city gave Damascus the chance to try to position itself as part of the global anti-terrorism campaign.

The militants had spent 10 months in Palmyra, during which they blew up a number of temples and caused other destruction — severing the heads of statues and partially damaging two temples and famous arch.

Maamoun Abdulkarim, Syria's official for antiquities and museums, said his department had transferred the contents of Palmyra's museum to Damascus, but that he still worries about the safety of the ruins from the IS militants.

"I fear they will be more vengeful," Abdulkarim told The Associated Press.

Palmyra was a major tourist attraction before Syria's civil war began in 2011.

Sunday's takeover came hours after government troops and Russian air raids pushed the group out the city's perimeter. IS militants later regrouped and attacked from multiple sides, forcing government troops to retreat.

The militants went door to door, looking for any remaining forces loyal to President Bashar Assad, opposition activists in the city said.

Homs provincial Gov. Talal Barazi told the pan-Arab Mayadeen news channel that the IS attack on Palmyra is a "desperate" reaction to the Syrian government's recent military "victories."

Scores of Syrian troops reportedly have been killed in fighting around Palmyra in recent days. While a distraction from the battle for Aleppo, it is unlikely to affect the government's final push on the last rebel-held neighborhoods in the northern city. By Sunday evening, there was no sign the army was shifting significant resources from Aleppo.

The government and its allies reportedly have mobilized some 40,000 fighters for Aleppo.

"I don't think the regime would withdraw forces from Aleppo to Palmyra and risk losing Aleppo," said Rami Abdurrahman, the head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition monitoring group. "I think the regime's priority now is to finish the battle for Aleppo before the end of the month for sure. As for Palmyra, the whole international community would stand by it against IS."

In the last year, IS has suffered defeats in both Syria and Iraq, losing several towns and cities it had captured in 2014.

It is now under attack in Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city and the last major urban center it controls in the country. Since the Mosul offensive began nearly two months ago, Iraqi and U.S.-led coalition forces have killed or gravely wounded more than 2,000 IS fighters, said Lt. Gen. Stephen Townsend, the top U.S. commander in Iraq. He made his remarks at a news conference with U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter at Qayara air base in Iraq.

On Saturday, Carter announced he is sending another 200 troops to Syria to train and advise local fighters combatting IS. There are already 300 U.S. troops authorized for the Syria effort, and some 5,000 in Iraq.

A Kurdish-led Syrian force, backed by the U.S., is also pushing toward Raqqa, the group's de-facto capital in Syria, from the north. Meanwhile, Turkey is backing Syrian opposition fighters who have reached the outskirts of al-Bab, the IS stronghold in northern Syria.

In going for Palmyra, IS picked a soft target to demonstrate that it retains the ability to carry out large attacks despite its battlefield losses.

Mohammed Hassan al-Homsi, who runs the Palmyra News Network, said IS was steering away from northern Syria, where Turkey and the anti-IS international coalition have focused their fight. The militants are eyeing new territory, and they chose Palmyra for its desert terrain linked to Iraq and its surrounding oil and gas fields, al-Homsi said.

The state news agency SANA, quoting an unidentified military official, reported that the militant group received reinforcements from Raqqa. Russia's Defense Ministry put some of the blame on the coalition, saying it had scaled down its operation against Raqqa and allowed thousands of IS fighters to escape Mosul. The ministry said more than 4,000 militants have been deployed for the Palmyra takeover, implying those attacking the city recently had left Mosul. The Observatory and the Palmyra Coordination group said IS militants used a multipronged assault, forcing government forces to retreat south. A map distributed by the Observatory shows the IS-controlled areas extend east, south and north of Palmyra. They encompass a number of strategic hills around the city and expand the group's presence in rural parts of Homs province, Syria's largest, which is mostly under government control. Osama al-Khatib of the activist-run Palmyra Coordination group, which keeps in touch with residents, said remaining government and allied troops were escaping from the southwestern edge of the city, where the ancient ruins are. The few remaining families also are trying to leave, he said. Al-Homsi's Palmyra News Network said intense airstrikes followed the IS takeover. The group said IS fired on fleeing civilian. In a video by the IS-linked Aamaq news agency, IS fighters were shown roaming a main square that appeared deserted below the citadel that overlooks the ruins and the Palmyra Museum. Russia had earlier said it repelled an IS attack, launching 64 airstrikes overnight that killed 300 militants. But hours later, the activists said IS had seized a castle just outside the town that overlooks its famed Roman-era ruins. Expelling the IS militants last year was seen as a major triumph for Assad's forces, which previously had little success against the extremists. The government and its Russian allies have since focused on the opposition in Damascus and Aleppo. After tightening the siege on eastern Aleppo, government and allied troops have been steadily carving into the rebel-held enclave since late November. Of the original 45 square kilometers (17 square miles) of rebel-held area, only 7 square kilometers (4 square miles) remain in opposition hands, Syrian media said. Associated Press writers Zeina Karam in Beirut, Howard Amos and Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow, Albert Aji in Damascus, Syria, and Robert Burns at Qayara air base in Iraq contributed to this report.
ISIL recaptures the Syrian city of Palmyra despite heavy Russian airstrikes, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and Palmyra Coordination Committee (PCC).