Syria civil war: President Assad hails Palmyra recapture from Islamic State

President Bashar al-Assad has hailed the recapture of Palmyra from so-called Islamic State (IS) as an “important achievement” in the “war on terrorism”.

A monitoring group has backed the Syrian government’s claim that the city was recaptured overnight by the army. Military sources say the Syrian army now has “full control”. It had been gaining ground for several days, supported by Russian air strikes.

President Assad said this showed the success of the army’s strategy. His comments, to a group of visiting French parliamentarians, were carried on state TV.

IS seized the Unesco World Heritage site and modern town in May 2015. Images released by the Syrian military on Saturday showed helicopters and tanks firing at positions in Palmyra.

The date of the footage could not be independently verified. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based monitoring group, said there was still gunfire in the eastern part of the city, but the bulk of the IS force had pulled out and retreated further east.

It was a victory for Assad, who wanted to show the world that he was a partner in fighting terrorism.

Backed by Russian war planes and Shia militias, government forces gained control over the ancient city and are now close to securing a vast area of the country.

But residents and observers cast doubts on why Mr Assad’s forces pulled out from Palmyra in the first place, allowing Islamic State (IS) militants to get in to the city.

In May 2015, hundreds of IS fighters drove tens of thousands of kilometres across the desert to reach Palmyra, almost uninterrupted, while government forces were dropping barrel bombs over opposition areas full of civilians.

President Assad has now secured a stronger position in the peace talks. He is certainly seen as a problem-solver, but many say he is the source of the problem. When IS seized the city it destroyed archaeological sites, drawing global outrage. Two 2,000-year-old temples, an arch and funerary towers were left in ruins.

The jihadist group, which has also demolished several pre-Islamic sites in neighbouring Iraq, believes that such structures are idolatrous.

The prospect of the city’s liberation was welcomed by Unesco, the UN’s cultural agency, which has described the destruction of Palmyra as a war crime.

The head of Syria’s antiquities authority, Mamoun Abdelkarim, promised to repair as much of the damage as possible as a “message against terrorism”.