The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is advancing in both Syria and Iraq, according to news reports published today.
The New York Times reported that ISIS forces were progressing toward the city of Palmyra in central Syria. Palmyra is the location of ancient ruins, and ISIS’ progress raises concern that those ruins could be endangered by the terror group.
Islamic State militants advanced to the outskirts of the Syrian town of Palmyra on Thursday, putting the extremist group within striking distance of some of the world’s most magnificent antiquities.
That raised fears that the ancient city of Palmyra, with its complex of columns, tombs and ancient temples dating to the first century A.D., could be looted or destroyed. Militants from the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, have already destroyed large parts of ancient sites at Nimrud, Hatra and Nineveh in Iraq. Islamic State leaders denounce pre-Islamic art and architecture as idolatrous even as they sell smaller, more portable artifacts to finance their violent rampage through the region.
The fighting on Thursday took place little more than a mile from the city’s grand 2,000-year-old ruins, which stand as the crossroad of Greek, Roman, Persian and Islamic cultures.
The Washington Post reported that ISIS is once again threatening Iraq’s largest oil refinery.
For weeks, soldiers, policemen and Shiite militiamen have struggled to hold their ground inside the Baiji oil complex during a brutal siege by the Islamic State. The group’s suicide bombers have relentlessly struck the perimeters of the refinery, about 150 miles north of the capital, and pushed deep inside the massive, 10-mile-square facility.
The Baiji operation shows how the Islamic State has remained resilient even after suffering setbacks at the hands of pro-government forces and losing fighters and equipment to U.S. airstrikes, according to analysts, Iraqi officials and militiamen.
“Daesh is still a relentless terrorist-military organization despite losing some ground, and it’s still increasing attacks on Baiji,” said Saeed al-Jayashi, a Baghdad-based political analyst, using the Arabic acronym for the Islamic State.
Iraqi troops liberated Baiji from ISIS last year.
Two weeks ago, Tower contributor Michael Pregent noticed that Iran was allowing ISIS to continue operating. Pregent concluded that Iran has no interest in defeating ISIS for now. Rather, Pregent asserted that “Iran needs the threat of ISIS and Sunni jihadist groups to stay in Syria and Iraq in order to become further entrenched in Damascus and Baghdad” and present itself to its allies in Iraq and Syria as the primary defense against ISIS.
[Photo: BBC News / YouTube ]