Syria civil war: Army 'steps up offensive from Palmyra'

The Syrian army, backed by Russian warplanes, is reported to be continuing its offensive against so-called Islamic State (IS) after recapturing the ancient city of Palmyra on Sunday.

Fighting was taking place around IS-held towns to the north-east and south-west of the city, reports said.

The army says it will use Palmyra as a launchpad to expand operations against IS and cut its supply routes.

It retook the city after days of fighting backed by Russian air strikes.

IS seized the Unesco World Heritage site and modern town in May 2015, publicly destroying some ancient buildings and artefacts. Experts are now assessing the damage.

Syrian military sources quoted by AFP news agency said the army was targeting IS-held towns including al-Qaryatain, south-west of Palmyra, and Sukhnah towards the north-east.

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"The army was concentrated around al-Qaryatain, and today [Monday] the military operations began there," the source said.

"That is the next goal for the Syrian army. They also have their eyes on Sukhnah."

Syrian state media also said Palmyra's military airport had been reopened.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group also said pro-government forces were battling militants north-east of Palmyra.

It said warplanes, believed to be Russian, had targeted the main road east towards Deir al-Zour, a key town besieged by IS.

Some militants were still holed up inside Palmyra, the observatory added, and had targeted Syrian troops with car bombs and suicide attacks.

Russia has promised to send de-mining equipment and experts to help clear the city of any booby traps.

Meanwhile, experts have said that damage to the ancient ruins does not appear to have been as bad as feared.

The head of antiquities in Syria, Maamoun Abdulkarim, told the BBC that more than 80% of the ancient city was still intact.

He said restoration and some reconstruction would be required but "in general we are very happy because I thought that the result would be more disaster".

He said a meeting with Unesco chiefs is to be held in Paris soon to discuss a strategy for the city.

IS provoked global outrage when it blew up some of the ancient buildings, leaving two 2,000-year-old temples, an arch and funerary towers in ruins.

The jihadist group, which has also demolished pre-Islamic sites in neighbouring Iraq, believes such structures are idolatrous.

Correspondents say the recapture of Palmyra is one of the biggest setbacks for IS since it declared a caliphate across swathes of Syria and Iraq in 2014.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad hailed the operation as an "important achievement" in the "war on terrorism".

The Kremlin said President Assad knew the Palmyra operation "would have been impossible without Russia's support".

Russia's six-month air campaign against opponents of President Assad has turned the tide of the five-year civil war in his favour.