The Syrian Army is in full control of the highway from Damascus to ancient Palmyra for the first time since 2014 after driving out jehadis, a monitor said on Friday. Since troops recaptured Palmyra from the ISIS group in March, the UNESCO World Heritage site had been accessible via Syria’s third city Homs, about 150 kilometres (95 miles) to the west.
But after major advances on Thursday night, the Army now controls the direct road from the capital to Palmyra, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.