US welcomes IS loss of Palmyra

The United States on Monday welcomed the victory of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad’s Russian-backed forces over the Islamic State group in the historic city of Palmyra, despite concern over his brutal record.

“We do think that it’s a good thing that Daesh no longer controls it,” State Department spokesman John Kirby said, using his department’s preferred term for the jihadist group.

“That said, we’re also mindful, of course, that the best hope for Syria and the Syrian people is not an expansion of Bashar al-Assad’s ability to tyrannize the Syrian people.”

Backed by Russia, Syrian government and allied fighters overran Palmyra on Sunday after nearly 10 months in which the Islamic State group held sway in the city.

Washington is leading its own coalition campaign against the IS group, but has also accused Assad of fomenting chaos by provoking civil war in Syria.

Russia, in contrast, has sent warplanes and advisers to assist Assad’s battle against both the armed opposition and extremists such as the IS group.

In the case of Palmyra, however, Kirby welcomed the battle as a setback for a common foe.

“The short answer is yes, we think it’s a good thing,” Kirby said, speaking for Secretary of State John Kerry, who met Russian leaders in Moscow last week.

“I wasn’t aware that there was confusion before, but there was no confusion on the secretary’s part. In his mind, this was a good thing.

“We can’t forget what Daesh did in this place; destroying our common heritage — human history — beheading a renowned archeologist who was responsible for maintaining those sites.”