IS in full control of Syria's ancient city Palmyra: monitor

The al Qaeda offshoot controlled the central city's military air base, prison and intelligence headquarters

BEIRUT: The Islamic State group seized full control of the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra on Thursday, a monitor said, putting the world heritage site at risk of destruction.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights told AFP that regime troops had pulled back from positions in and around Palmyra, including from an army intelligence outpost, a military airport and a prison which the jihadists captured overnight.

Read: Two held for distributing Islamic State pamphlets

Clashes since Wednesday had killed at least 100 pro-government fighters, he said. Pro-government forces have withdrawn, according to Syrian state media.

Read: Islamic State militants kidnap 90 Christians in Syria: monitor

Abdulrahman, who bases his information on a network of sources on the ground, said there were so far no reports of destruction of the city's historic artefacts.