Islamic State group fighters overran most of the historic Syrian city of Palmyra on Wednesday, in a blow to efforts to repel the advancing jihadists after the fall of Iraq’s Ramadi. The jihadists, notorious for demolishing archaeological treasures since declaring a ‘caliphate’ last year straddling Iraq and Syria, appeared to have fought their way into Palmyra on foot after breaking through in the city’s north. It was unclear if they had reached Palmyra’s UNESCO-listed heritage site, including ancient temples and colonnaded streets, and its adjacent museum housing priceless artefacts, located in the city’s southwest. ‘IS controls almost all of Palmyra’ following the withdrawal of government troops from all sectors except for a prison in the east and military intelligence headquarters in the west, said Rami Abdel Rahman of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. An activist originally from Palmyra, Mohamed

Read More: IS overruns most of Syria’s ancient Palmyra; Unclear if they reached UNESCO-listed heritage site