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For the second day, ISIS militants continued attacking the 5th Corps of the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) in the vicinity of the Palmyra Silos.
ISIS units carried out a number of hit-and-run attacks against government troops and shelled 5th Corps positions with artillery in order to prevent the 5th Corps from advancing further in the countryside of the ancient city. However, terrorists were not able to capture points from government forces. The SAA maintained control over all captured areas around in the Palmyra countryside.
So far, ISIS has only managed to destroy a T-62M tank belonging to the 5th Corps with an anti-tank guided missile. The crewmen survived the attack.
Syrian and Russian warplanes restlessly pound ISIS supply lines across the Syrian desert to prevent the terrorist group from regrouping and counter-attacking in the Palmyra area.
The Palmyra Silos is considered one of the most important defensive points around Palmyra. The collapse of government defenses in Palmyra few months sarted from the ISIS success in this area.
Numerous reports in pro-government sources suggest that the Syrian Armed Forces plan to launch a large-scale offensive with the intention of capturing the strategic oil-rich area of Sakhnah. This area is located on the way from Palmyra to Deir Ezzor.
However, this attack will require a large number of troops and significant preparations. This is why it’s unlikely that it will be carried out soon. We recall that a considerable amount of 5th Corps fighters were redeployed to northern Hama to reinforce its government forces repelling the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham advance there.
ISIS militants targeted a T-62M tank with an anti-tank guided missile on March 22:
