Assad forces close in on Islamic State at Palmyra

Forces loyal to Bashar al-Assad and backed by Russian airstrikes are fightingIslamic State militants close to the historic city of Palmyra, a campaign that if successful would be a major symbolic victory for government troops.

But opposition activists from the city, which fell to Isis control nearly a year ago, accused Russian forces of indiscriminate bombing of civilians and destruction of homes and infrastructure.

“Russian planes, missiles and artillery have not stopped bombing the city indiscriminately as part of a scorched earth policy, without differentiating between humans and rocks,” activists with the Palmyra Local Coordination Committee said.

Government forces are fighting Isis seven miles from the city’s western gates in some of the most intense battles in the area in months, monitoring groups and activists said.

The Syrian government said it had control over two pathways into the city, tightening the noose on Isis fighters in the area.

Palmyra fell to Isis last May, after a one-week siege after which regime forces abandoned the city to its fate. The invasion of Palmyra sparked an international outcry over fears the militant group would destroy its monuments, some of the best-preserved from antiquity.