Syrian army, paramilitary group gain ground near Palmyra

Feb. 7 (UPI) -- The Russian-supported Syrian army is retaking land near the Islamic State stronghold of Palmyra, a Russian general said Tuesday.

The announcement comes as a paramilitary group unaffiliated with the Syrian army and known as the Desert Hawks Brigade was deployed to land west of Palmyra to take IS-controlled gas fields, the United Arab Emirates-based news website Al Masdar News reported Tuesday.

The Syrian army retook the cities of Tias and el-Beida and is moving toward Palmyra, the ancient city under Islamic State control, Lt. Gen Sergey Rudoskoy, chief of the Russian General staff's main operations directorate, said in Moscow Tuesday.

"On the way to Palmyra, [the] Russian air group-supported Syrian army has considerably expanded the area under its control near Tias. A total of 783 square kilometers [302 square miles] has been retaken from the terrorists. The Syrian army has moved 25 kilometers [15.5 miles] eastwards to have taken el-Beida. The commanding heights along the road have been put under control. A greater part of the way towards Palmyra has been covered," Rudskoy said.

Palmyra, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was taken by IS in 2015, retaken by the Syria army in March 2016 and returned to IS control in December. The destruction of Palmyra's ancient architecture and the sale of its antiquities brought international condemnation while the area has been under IS occupation.