Omar Sanadiki/Reuters
Islamic State fighters have re-entered the ancient city of Palmyra nine months after losing it to Russian and Syrian forces, a monitoring group said. The terrorist group launched an offensive to regain the territory earlier this week, and fighting was reportedly still underway between the group and regime forces on Saturday. “IS entered Palmyra on Saturday and now occupies its north-west,” Rami Abdel Rahman of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights told BBC. The Islamic State controlled the Unesco World Heritage site for ten months before it was re-captured by Syrian forces with the help of Russian air support in March. The victory was touted by Moscow as proof that its campaign in Syria is effective, with Russian authorities even flying an orchestra out to play in the city’s ancient ruins in celebration of the military success.