Demining operations begin in Palmyra

MOSCOW: Syrian forces have begun to demine the ancient city of Palmyra which was captured this week with the support of Russian airpower, Russia’s military said on Friday.

"The inspection of buildings and structures in the city is ongoing," senior commander Sergei Rudskoi told journalists. "Syrian deminers who were trained by Russian specialists at the training centre in Aleppo have begun to neutralise mines and explosive objects which were left by the terrorists," he said, adding that Russian experts will soon join the efforts. Russia used both planes and Ka-52 helicopters to back the ground offensive on Palmyra, Rudskoi said.

"To conserve historic heritage that was not destroyed by the ISIL terrorists, there were no strikes in the vicinity of historical monuments of ancient Palmyra," he said.