ISIS Controls 50% of Syria After Seizing Ancient City of Palmyra

The U.N. says it has received reports that Syrian government forces in the ancient city of Palmyra blocked civilians from leaving, ahead of the Islamic State’s seizure of the UNESCO World Heritage site on Wednesday.

The organization said it was deeply concerned about the plight of the remaining civilians in Palmyra, many of whom fear they’ll meet the same fate as others conquered by ISIS.

“ISIL (Islamic State) has reportedly been carrying out door-to-door searches in the city, looking for people affiliated with the government,” U.N. human rights spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani said. “At least 14 civilians are reported to have been executed by ISIL in Palmyra this week,” she added.

Syrian state media denied the report, claiming pro-government National Defense Forces had evacuated civilians before withdrawing.

The Islamic State reportedly gained full control of Palmyra and its ancient archaeological sites, its military bases and the notorious Tadmur prison on Thursday, marking the first time the al-Qaida offshoot has taken control of a city directly from the Syrian army and its allied forces.

The fall of the town to the Islamic State is a significant loss to the government, because it potentially opens the way for the extremists to advance toward key government-held areas, including the capital city of Damascus and Homs. It is also close to gas and oil fields that supply the regime’s strongholds in the west.

It raises questions, too, about the strength of President Bashar al-Assad’s troops, which have already lost ground in the northwest and south of the country to other insurgent groups in recent weeks.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the group now controlled more than half of all Syrian territory, adding that it has seized the last border crossing between Syria and Iraq after Syrian regime troops withdrew.

“ISIS also controls the vast majority of Raqqa province, its de facto capital, most of Deir Ezzor, parts of Hassakeh and the Aleppo countryside, most of the Syrian desert as well as parts of the Homs countryside and the Yarmouk refugee camp in southern Damascus,” the Guardian reports.

ISIS has also reportedly taken over major facilities in and around Palmyra, including the nearby Arak and al-Hail gas fields – key electricity-generating sites for government-controlled areas.

During their sweep across Syria and Iraq, Islamic State fighters have already destroyed antiquities and ancient monuments in the latter, prompting fears that Palmyra could suffer the same fate.

“We consider this … a culture battle for humanity and all the world,” Maamoun Abdulkarim, the Syrian antiquities chief, said.

Palmyra is very important in the minds of the Syrian people and also the international community. Now we are very afraid,” Abdulkarim added.

U.S. Military Admits Two Syrian Children Killed in U.S.-Led Airstrikes

A U.S.-led airstrike in Syria likely killed two children, officials said on Thursday, marking the first admission of civilian casualties in the U.S.-led campaign against the Islamic State, AFP reports.

The U.S. military’s Central Command said an investigation into allegations of civilian casualties resulting from airstrikes against the Syrian al-Qaida affiliate known as the Khorasan group found that two children were likely killed and two civilians wounded last November.

“The strikes were designed to destroy targets utilized by Khorasan group-affiliated extremists to meet and manufacture explosives,” the report said.

But the bombing killed two children – including the daughter of a militant – and caused “minor injuries” to two civilian workers who lived near the buildings that were targeted, it claimed.

This is the first of four ongoing U.S. military investigations into civilian casualties resulting from the coalition bombing campaign that began on August 8. However, the investigation result released on Thursday was the first time the U.S. military had acknowledged that civilian deaths were likely.

Lieutenant General James Terry, head of the U.S.-led air campaign against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, said, “We regret the unintentional loss of lives.”

“The coalition continues to take all reasonable measures during the targeting process to mitigate risks to non-combatants.”

In assessments prior to the air raid, there were no reports that children could be in the area, the probe concluded.

The U.S.-led air campaign began in Iraq last August and extended to Syria in September.

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