Beirut: Syrian troops and militia recaptured the ancient city of Palmyra from the Daesh group on Sunday, scoring a major victory over the terrorists with Russian air support.
Since Russia sent combat jets and helicopters to Syria in late September, forces loyal to President Bashar Al Assad have made steady progress against both the militants and Western-backed rebels.
Here is a timeline:
September 30, 2015: Russia launches air strikes in Syria, saying its intervention is against “terrorist groups”, including Daesh. Rebels and their foreign backers say it is targeting moderate regime opponents in a bid to bolster Al Assad.
November 10, 2015: Syrian troops celebrate their first significant victory against Daesh, breaking a more than two-year siege of the Kweyris airbase in Aleppo province.
November 12, 2015: Troops backed by fighters of Lebanon’s Hezbollah militia recapture the strategic town of Al Hader, near the main highway from Aleppo to Damascus.
December 25, 2015: An air strike claimed by the Damascus regime kills top leaders of Saudi-backed rebel movement Jaish Al Islam (Army of Islam), which controls the capital’s eastern suburbs, including its commander Zahran Alloush.
January 12, 2016: Troops and militia take full control of the strategic town of Salma, in Latakia province on the Mediterranean coast. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Russia carried out more than 120 air strikes over 48 hours in support of the offensive.
January 24: Loyalist forces overrun Rabia, the last major rebel-held town in Latakia province.
January 25: The army captures the strategic southern town of Sheikh Miskeen, in Deraa province close to the Jordanian border.
February 3: Syrian troops backed by Russian warplanes cut the last supply route between rebels in Aleppo city and the Turkish border, in a major blow to the opposition.
February 25: The army retakes the town of Khanasser, reopening its sole supply route to government-held areas of Aleppo.
March 7: Syrian troops launch the battle for Palmyra, which has been held by Daesh since May 2015.
Moscow pledges its full support, despite its announcement on March 14 of a drawdown of its forces following a February 27 truce between the government and non-militant rebels.
March 27: The army takes full control of Palmyra — both the ancient site and the adjacent modern city — with the support of Russian special forces and air strikes.
