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Islamic State 'seizes part of Syria's Palmyra' Islamic State 'enters town next to Syria's Palmyra'
(about 2 hours later)
Islamic State fighters have seized the northern part of the ancient World Heritage-listed city of Palmyra in Syria, a monitoring group has said. Islamic State militants are reported to have seized a third of the Syrian town next to Palmyra, one of the the Middle East's greatest archaeological sites.
Militants seized part of the town of Tadmur located on a strategic east-west route next to Palmyra on Saturday but had been pushed back from the ruins. Activists said IS had overrun much of the north of Tadmur after fierce clashes with government forces.
Palmyra contains architecture of one of the most important cultural centres of the ancient world, according to Unesco. Syria's head of antiquities said the world had a responsibility to save Palmyra, a Unesco World Heritage site.
Syria's antiquities chief said hundreds of statues had been moved to safety. Hundreds of statues had been moved to safety, but large monuments could not be moved, Maamoun Abdul Karim warned.
The fighters have not reached the ruins which are in the south-west of Palmyra. IS militants have ransacked and demolished several ancient sites that pre-date Islam in Iraq, including Hatra and Nimrud, leading to fears that it might attempt to damage or destroy Palmyra.
IS has ransacked and demolished several ancient sites that pre-date Islam in Iraq, including Hatra and Nimrud leading to fears that it might attempt to damage or destroy Palmyra's. What the loss of Palmyra would mean for the world
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said a third of Palmyra had been taken after battles with government forces. On Wednesday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based monitoring group, said a third of Tadmur had been taken by IS after battles with government soldiers and allied militiamen.
The site - known as the Bride of the Desert - features a colonnaded street, major public buildings and funerary monuments. "People are very afraid of what will happen, because IS has the capability to get to the heart of Palmyra," an activist in the town told the AFP news agency.
It dates back to the 1st and 2nd Century, mixing Graeco-Roman techniques with local traditions and Persian influences. Rising out of the desert and flanked by an oasis, Palmyra contains the monumental ruins of a great city that was one of the most important cultural centres of the ancient world, according to Unesco.
The militants have seized oil and gas facilities in the region - capturing the city would also be an important strategic gain, says BBC Arab Affairs analyst, Sebastian Usher. The site, most of which dates back to the 1st to the 2nd Century when the region was under Roman rule, is dominated by a grand, colonnaded street.
Palmyra and Tadmur are situated in a strategically important area on the road between the capital, Damascus and the contested eastern city of Deir al-Zour, and close to gas fields.
Taking control of the area would therefore be an important strategic gain for IS, says BBC Arab Affairs analyst, Sebastian Usher.
But the world's focus is on the ruins and IS has luxuriated in devastating and destroying similarly priceless, pre-Islamic archaeological treasures in Iraq, condemning them as idolatrous, he adds.But the world's focus is on the ruins and IS has luxuriated in devastating and destroying similarly priceless, pre-Islamic archaeological treasures in Iraq, condemning them as idolatrous, he adds.
Meanwhile in Iraq, the government has called for volunteers to confront IS fighters there to help retake the city of Ramadi. A US-led coalition has carried out air strikes on the jihadist group's positions since September 2014. However, it says it does not co-ordinate its actions with the Syrian government.