PALMYRA (Sputnik) — Engineer troops of the Syrian army have begun clearance of mines in the residential areas of Palmyra, a Syrian army officer told Sputnik on Friday.
"Militants left explosive devices in residential buildings. We have found some traps at the houses' entrances. Perhaps, as in the past year, there may be booby-trapped cars in the streets," the officer said.
On Thursday, the Syrian government forces regained control over Palmyra with the support of the Russian aircraft operating in Syria. The operation was carried out with minimal losses among the anti-terrorist troops.
The city was occupied by Daesh (banned in Russia) in May 2015 and was under control of the terrorists until March 2016, when the Syrian army supported by Russia's Aerospace Forces liberated it. However, the jihadists later succeeded to drive out the Syrian government forces in December 2016 after a large-scale offensive.
