ISIS Cuts Govt Supply Route to Syrian City of Palmyra

Just Recently Recovered, City May Be Under Threat

ISIS looks to be making yet more inroads in central Syria today, with reports that they have seized part of the highway between the cities of Homs and Palmyra, effectively cutting off the supply route to the ancient city of Palmyra.

The move comes less than a week after ISIS took over the Shaer gas field, in the same area to Palmyra’s northwest. The territory has all been reclaimed by the Syrian military over the past few months, including Palmyra itself, which was recovered only a little over a month ago.

Though this doesn’t necessarily mean Palmyra is facing an immediate siege, the move against the highway suggests that ISIS has designs on eventually threatening the city again, one of the few major cities they’ve lost in Syria so far this year.

It also puts a serious hole in the narrative that ISIS has lost all of its momentum and is facing imminent defeat, reflecting that despite recent pushes by several different factions across several different fronts, ISIS retains the capability to launch counterattacks and recover at least some lost ground.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.