The Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham (ISIS) stormed the ancient city of Palmyra three months ago with a rather large force of almost 1,800 armed combatants; however, since then, they have redeployed their fighters to other fronts, leaving them susceptible to a counter-assault from the Syrian Armed Forces in the Homs Governorate’s eastern countryside.

As ISIS spreads itself too thin around Syria, the Syrian Arab Army has taken advantage of this at Palmyra, capturing over 150 square kilometers of territory that is spread across Jabal Al-Hayr to the west and the Ancient Quarries of Palmyra to the east.

Recently, the Syrian Arab Army’s 67th Brigade of the 18th Tank Division – in coordination with the National Defense Forces (NDF) and Hezbollah – recaptured the Palmyra Driving School and the Palmyra Castle (Qal’at Tadmur) after fierce clashes with the terrorist group in the western Palmyra countryside.

Following the capture of the Palmyra Driving School and Castle, the Syrian Armed Forces and Hezbollah advanced to the western outskirts of the city, leaving less than 3 km of territory between themselves and Jabal Qasioun (Qasioun Mountains).

To the north of Palmyra, the Syrian Arab Army’s “Tiger  Forces” – alongside Liwaa Suqour Al-Sahra (Desert Hawks Brigade) are advancing south of the Ancient Quarries; this has left only 2 kilometers of territory between the Syrian Armed Forces and the village of Al-‘Amariyah in northern Palmyra.

ISIS attempted to fight their way out of this siege on Tuesday; however, their attempt was relatively unsuccessful at the groves of Al-Bayarat and the Palmyra Driving School.

ALSO READ  Armenia releases new video of alleged mercenaries in Karabakh

How much longer can ISIS hold out? This answer is contingent on their willingness to dedicate human resources to this desert front.

 

Share this article:
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

Notice: All comments represent the view of the commenter and not necessarily the views of AMN.

All comments that are not spam or wholly inappropriate are approved, we do not sort out opinions or points of view that are different from ours.

Be Civil

This is a Civilized Place for Public Discussion

Please treat this discussion with the same respect you would a public park. We, too, are a shared community resource — a place to share skills, knowledge and interests through ongoing conversation.

These are not hard and fast rules, merely guidelines to aid the human judgment of our community and keep this a clean and well-lighted place for civilized public discourse.

Make it better

Improve the Discussion

Help us make this a great place for discussion by always working to improve the discussion in some way, however small. If you are not sure your post adds to the conversation, think over what you want to say and try again later.

The topics discussed here matter to us, and we want you to act as if they matter to you, too. Be respectful of the topics and the people discussing them, even if you disagree with some of what is being said.

Now the hard part!

Be Agreeable, Even When You Disagree

You may wish to respond to something by disagreeing with it. That’s fine. But remember to criticize ideas, not people. Please avoid:

  • Name-calling
  • Ad hominem attacks
  • Responding to a post’s tone instead of its actual content
  • Knee-jerk contradiction

Instead, provide reasoned counter-arguments that improve the conversation.