By Laila Bassam and Suleiman Al-Khalidi BEIRUT/AMMAN (Reuters) - Islamic State militants were fighting government forces near an ancient city which is home to one of Syria's world heritage sites on Thursday, part of a major offensive in central regions by the jihadist group that has destroyed antiquities in Iraq. Islamic State fighters reached online said the group was shelling an air base near Tadmur, an oasis in the desert **rth-east of Damascus also k**wn as Palmyra. Syria's antiquities chief Maamoun Abdulkarim said the fighting was just one or two km (1 mile) from Tadmur, warning that if the militant group seizes the city, "they will destroy everything that exists there". The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said the militants had taken up positions outside Tadmur, which is listed as a UNESCO world heritage site, after capturing al-Sukhna, 75 km (46 miles) to the **rtheast, on Wednesday.
05-15-2015, 10:20 AM
Islamic State battles Syrian army near world heritage site
By Laila Bassam and Suleiman Al-Khalidi BEIRUT/AMMAN (Reuters) - Islamic State militants were fighting government forces near an ancient city which is home to one of Syria's world heritage sites on Thursday, part of a major offensive in central regions by the jihadist group that has destroyed antiquities in Iraq. Islamic State fighters reached online said the group was shelling an air base near Tadmur, an oasis in the desert **rth-east of Damascus also k**wn as Palmyra. Syria's antiquities chief Maamoun Abdulkarim said the fighting was just one or two km (1 mile) from Tadmur, warning that if the militant group seizes the city, "they will destroy everything that exists there". The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said the militants had taken up positions outside Tadmur, which is listed as a UNESCO world heritage site, after capturing al-Sukhna, 75 km (46 miles) to the **rtheast, on Wednesday.
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