Islamic State group fighters withdrew from much of the Syrian oasis city of Palmyra overnight, a monitor said on Thursday, but Government forces paused before entering its ravaged ancient ruins because of mines.
Russian-backed Syrian troops pushed into a western neighbourhood of the city late on Wednesday after fierce clashes with the jihadists.on Thursday ISIS had withdrawn to residential neighbourhoods in the east of the city, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
"ISIS withdrew from most of Palmyra after laying mines across the city. There are still suicide bombers left in the eastern neighbourhoods," Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP.
"Government forces have not yet been able to enter the heart of the city or the eastern parts."
Palmyra's ancient ruins have long been listed by UNESCO as a world heritage site. Before ISIS entered the city in May 2015, they boasted temples, colonnaded alleys and elaborately decorated tombs that were among the best preserved classical monuments in the Middle East.
But the jehadists launched a campaign of destruction against them, the scale of which was fully revealed when Government forces briefly retook the city with Russian support last year.