Syria, Iraq troops push into Islamic State strongholds

US Secretary of State John Kerry (right) shakes hands with Russian President Vladimir Putin as they meet at the Kremlin in Moscow, March 24, 2016. United States Secretary of State John Kerry, meanwhile, held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and agreed to push for a political settlement in Syria, but the future of its Moscow-allied leader Bashar al-Assad remains a sticking point. AFP PHOTO | ANDREW HARNIK |

What you need to know:

  • United States Secretary of State John Kerry, meanwhile, held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and agreed to push for a political settlement in the war-torn country, but the future of its Moscow-allied leader Bashar al-Assad remains a sticking point.
  • Unless Assad agrees to step down, there are concerns that the Syrian opposition could drop out of peace talks in Geneva, which United Nations envoy Staffan de Mistura said he was aiming to restart on April 9.
  • Backed by Russian fighter jets and allied militia on the ground, the Syrian army advanced into Palmyra after launching a desert offensive early this month, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
  • The defence ministry in Moscow said Russian aircraft carried out 146 strikes on “terrorist targets” in the Palmyra area between Sunday and Wednesday, killing more than 320 “terrorists” and destroying six Islamic State command posts and two ammunition dumps.

DAMASCUS, Friday

Syrian troops have entered the ancient city of Palmyra and Iraqi forces launched an offensive against Mosul as pressure mounted on key strongholds of the Islamic State jihadist group.

United States Secretary of State John Kerry, meanwhile, held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and agreed to push for a political settlement in the war-torn country, but the future of its Moscow-allied leader Bashar al-Assad remains a sticking point.

Unless Assad agrees to step down, there are concerns that the Syrian opposition could drop out of peace talks in Geneva, which United Nations envoy Staffan de Mistura said he was aiming to restart on April 9.

Backed by Russian fighter jets and allied militia on the ground, the Syrian army advanced into Palmyra after launching a desert offensive early this month, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The defence ministry in Moscow said Russian aircraft carried out 146 strikes on “terrorist targets” in the Palmyra area between Sunday and Wednesday, killing more than 320 “terrorists” and destroying six Islamic State command posts and two ammunition dumps.

The group overran Palmyra - popularly known as the Pearl of the Desert - in May last year and it has since blown up several Unesco-listed temples and looted relics that dated back thousands of years.

“Regime forces have entered the Hayy al-Gharf neighbourhood in the southwest of Palmyra.

They are advancing very slowly because of mines planted by the Islamic State group,” Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman said, adding troops were also advancing from the north.

Palmyra’s recapture would be a major strategic and significant victory for President Assad, since whoever holds it also controls the vast desert extending from central Syria to the Iraqi border.

A Syrian military source said the army had entered Palmyra from the northwest after seizing control of part of the historic Valley of the Tombs.

“The clashes, which are ongoing, are fierce,” he told journalists.

IS CALL

IS had earlier urged civilians to flee the city, where about 15,000 of its 70,000 original inhabitants remained after the jihadist takeover.

Syria’s antiquities chief Maamoun Abdelkarim hailed the “imminent” recapture of Palmyra, vowing to rebuild all monuments destroyed by the jihadists.

“I am very happy that the liberation is imminent before the total destruction of the ancient city,” he said.

Unesco head Irinia Bokova welcomed the push by regime forces to recapture Palmyra.

“For one year, Palmyra has been a symbol of the cultural cleansing plaguing the Middle East,” Bokova said.

Across the border, Iraqi forces announced the start of an offensive to retake the second city of Mosul, IS’ main hub in the country.

“The army and the Popular Mobilisation paramilitary force have begun the first phase of conquest operations in the northern province of Nineveh, of which Mosul is the capital,” Iraq military joint operations command told journalists in Baghdad.

It said four villages had been taken between the town of Qayyarah, which is held by IS, and Makhmur, where US-backed Iraqi forces have been massing for the past several weeks.

Experts have warned that any battle to retake Mosul would be difficult, given the significant number of jihadists and civilians in the city and the time IS has had to prepare defences.

At the US-Russia talks in Moscow, some consensus appeared to be achieved over a framework and timeline for a political transition.

“We agreed on a target schedule for establishing a framework for a political transition and also a draft constitution, and the target is August,” Kerry said at a joint news conference with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov after the talks.

Lavrov told journalists that Moscow and Washington would step up efforts to get the Syrian regime and opposition to hold direct talks in Geneva, Switzerland where a round of negotiations that saw a UNs mediator shuttle between the delegations concluded on Thursday.

LIGHT MOMENT

Meanwhile, President Putin took a keen interest in the briefcase of Kerry, wondering aloud if it contained cash intended to sway his opinion on Syria’s future.

“When I saw you getting off the plane and carrying your things, I got a bit upset,” Putin began as the pair met for talks at the Kremlin.

“On the one hand, it is very democratic but on the other, I thought, things must be getting bad in the US,” Putin said with a small laugh, “if there is nobody to help the Secretary of State with his briefcase”.

“One would think it’s all going well with the economy, no significant layoffs - but then I thought, maybe there was something in that briefcase that you could not entrust to anyone, something valuable.”

“It must be money you brought, to better haggle with us on key issues,” Putin joked, looking across the table at a smiling Kerry.

“When we have a private moment, I’ll show you what’s in my briefcase. I think you will be surprised, pleasantly,” Kerry replied.

Quizzed by a journalist from a Russian state channel on the contents of the briefcase later at a press conference, Kerry made it clear that the matter was not for public scrutiny.