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MOSCOW, Feb. 13 (Xinhua) -- The Islamic State (IS) terrorists are trying to destroy the remaining world heritage in Syria's ancient city of Palmyra, the Russian Defense Ministry said Monday.
A Russian drone has detected an increased movement of IS trucks in Palmyra, which indicates that the terrorists are delivering explosives to further damage the architectural relics before their retreat, said the ministry.
The terrorists have destroyed a large number of precious cultural relics since they seized Palmyra in 2015.
The IS is preparing new vandalism as Syrian government troops backed by Russian warplanes now continue to advance toward Palmyra, fighting terrorists less than 20 km away from the city, the ministry said.
In March 2016, Syrian government troops backed by Russian jets managed to expel the terrorists from Palmyra, but the IS recaptured it in December.
