Syrian army pushes IS jihadists back from ancient Palmyra

[WorldNews]

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Syria's antiquities chief voiced guarded relief on Sunday as government troops pushed jihadists of the Islamic State group back from the remains of ancient Palmyra. The jihadists, who have demolished several ancient sites in neighbouring Iraq, had advanced to within a kilometre (less than a mile) of the UNESCO world heritage site, one of the jewels of classical architecture. "We have good news today, we feel much better," antiquities chief Mamoun Abdulkarim told AFP by telephone. Provincial governor Talal Barazi told AFP that the army had recaptured northern districts of the modern town of Tadmur which the jihadists had overrun on Saturday.

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