IS advances on Syria’s Palmyra

Islamic State jihadists advanced on Saturday on Syria’s ancient Palmyra after executing dozens of civilians on the city’s outskirts, as Iraq dispatched reinforcements to prevent Ramadi from falling into extremist hands.

Fierce clashes continued overnight near Palmyra, with IS fighters gaining ground east of the metropolis, renowned for its colonnaded streets and elaborate tombs.

Situated in central Homs province, Palmyra lies at the gateway to Syria’s vast desert extending to IS-controlled territory in neighbouring Iraq, making the ancient city a key strategic target for the extremist group.

“IS wants to give the impression that it is still expanding its control in Syria and Iraq, despite the strikes by the coalition,” said Rami Abdel Rahman, director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, referring to US-led bombing raids in both countries.

Homs province is largely under the control of President Bashar al-Assad’s regime, but IS has stepped up attacks there in recent months.

If Palmyra falls, it would expand IS control from Syria’s east and north to the country’s heartland.

The city is also key to IS’s propaganda machine, as the group has destroyed numerous pre-Islamic archeological sites during its rampage across Iraq and Syria. Fearing a similar fate for Palmyra, known as Syria’s “pearl of the desert,” UNESCO has called on the UNSC to act in order to save one of the Middle East’s historic treasures.

In its brutal advance towards the city, IS executed at least 49 civilians over the course of two days, the Observatory said, including 26 on Thursday after accusing them of “collaborating with the regime.”  Ten people were beheaded, the monitor said.

IS executed another 23 civilians, among them nine children, on Friday northeast of Palmyra.