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DAMASCUS, Dec. 11 (Xinhua) -- The Islamic State (IS) recaptured the ancient city of Palmyra in central Syria on Sunday, just nine months after losing the city to the Syrian army, a monitor group reported.
Following four days of a wide-scale offensive, IS successfully captured the millennia-old oasis city of Palmyra in the eastern countryside of the central province of Homs, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The city as well as its airbase, ancient part and citadel fell to IS, said the Observatory.
It added that over 120 Syrian soldiers were killed during the offensive as well as tens of the IS militants.
The Syrian soldiers withdrew to the desert in southern Palmyra, amid intense Russian and Syrian airstrikes on IS positions there.
Meanwhile, the governor of Homs, Talal Barazi, told local Ekhbariyeh TV that the army has withdrawn from the city.
The IS started its offensive on Palmyra on Thursday, after bringing in hundreds of fighters for taking the city, according to the Observatory.
The Syrian army captured Palmyra on March 27, 2016, a year after losing the city to the IS.
Palmyra contains the monumental ruins of a great city that was one of the most important cultural centers of the ancient world.
The city has an importance to IS as it connects areas under the terror group's control in the eastern province of Deir al-Zour with areas under its control in the eastern countryside of the central province of Homs.
The recapture of Palmyra is also important as the group's fighters in Iraq have started entering Syria recently after suffering great losses in battles against the Iraqi army and the U.S.-anti-terror coalition.
