Summary
ISIS fighters killed 26 Syrian soldiers on Monday west of Palmyra, a monitoring group said, after days of advances by government forces backed by Syrian and Russian air cover.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said last week that the Syrian army would soon recapture Palmyra from ISIS, which has held the desert city for nearly a year.
Syria's state news agency SANA said the army and allied forces, backed by the Syrian air force, carried out "concentrated operations" against ISIS around Palmyra and the ISIS-held town of al-Qaryatayn, about 100 km further west.
After more than five months of airstrikes in support of Syrian President Bashar Assad, Putin announced the withdrawal last week of most Russian forces.
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