(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. 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. 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. 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. Located 155 miles (215 kilometers) east of Damascus, the city was once home to 65,000 people before the Syrian civil war began. 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. 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. 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. 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.
ISIL recaptures the Syrian city of Palmyra despite heavy Russian airstrikes, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and Palmyra Coordination Committee (PCC).