At least 26 pro-government fighters were killed battling the "Islamic State" (ISIS) terrorist group near Palmyra on Monday as Damascus stepped up a bid to recapture the ancient city, a monitoring group said, according to AFP.
"ISIS thwarted an offensive by Syrian regime loyalists as they pressed anadvance some four kilometers from Palmyra, and at least 26 fighters were killed," the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.