Enab Baladi – Ali Darwish

Before 2011, the mental image for many Syrians about the city of Palmyra revolved around two things: the first reflects a beautiful image of Syria and its historical significance as one of the most famous archaeological cities, while the second reflects fear and terror stemming from the events of its prison, which was a graveyard for opponents of the former President, Hafez al-Assad, and his heir Bashar.

These are two different images of the ancient city located in the heart of Syria, surrounded by the desert land from all sides.

With the beginning of the Syrian revolution in March 2011, the people of Palmyra in eastern Homs participated in peaceful demonstrations, facing the same fate as demonstrators in other provinces, which was repression by the security apparatuses. The city remained under the control of the regime until the Islamic State entered it in May 2015.

A new era began thereafter, different from its predecessor, adding a new image of the city following the Islamic State’s publications on its stage. This was followed by attempts from the regime, Russia, and Iranian militias to control it, resulting in their entry into the city in March 2016 after about ten months.

The Islamic State regained control of the city in December 2016, only for the Syrian regime forces to retake it about three months later (early March 2017).

The Islamic State’s control over the city ended, but it then experienced other tragedies added to what it had gone through under the control of the group. The forces that participated with the regime in controlling it created a military map of the city that still exists today, especially with the presence of various Iranian militias, alongside the Lebanese Hezbollah and local militias, most of which are Shiite.

Military strike

This military presence drew attention following the latest Israeli strike on the city on Wednesday, November 20, which was the deadliest strike in terms of the number of casualties compared to other attacks carried out by Israel in Syria, especially after it intensified its bombardment since the Al-Aqsa Flood operation on October 7, 2023.

The strike resulted in the death of 36 people and injured more than 50 others, according to the Ministry of Defense in the regime government, which did not provide detailed data on the number of civilian and military casualties resulting from the Israeli strike.

Enab Baladi monitored a group of announcements for the dead from the strike, the majority of whom were officers in the regime forces, the highest rank being Major General Abdullah al-Zeir, from the village of al-Raqqa west of Homs.

Most of the names monitored by Enab Baladi are from areas accused of having many of their residents biased towards the Syrian regime based on sectarian factors.

For its part, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (based in London) reported that the death toll rose to 82 people due to the strike in Palmyra, with 56 of them being Iran-affiliated militias of Syrian nationality, including eight officers and non-commissioned officers cooperating with Hezbollah, and 22 of non-Syrian nationality, most of whom were from the al-Nujaba Movement, along with four from Hezbollah.

Mohammad, a resident of Palmyra currently living in Istanbul, told Enab Baladi, as conveyed by friends and relatives residing in Palmyra, that Iran had transferred weapons from its storages in Jabal al-Amour west of Palmyra and distributed them in several civilian areas, including schools.

The latest Israeli bombardment struck the Industrial School and the western residential area near the bakery, amidst fears among civilians of strikes on other sites where militias had deployed their weapons.

Russian and regime forces are present in the area, but the most visible and largest presence is that of the Iranian-affiliated militias.

Military forces in Palmyra

The identities and affiliations of the casualties from the bombardment reflect a part of the military forces in the area, extending since their control and the expulsion of the Islamic State from it in March 2017. Enab Baladi had documented several military groups, including:

Russian army and mercenaries

The main backers of the Syrian regime and the ground militias in the Palmyra battle, providing air cover for military operations. 

Russian military experts were present on the ground, as revealed by Russia when it announced the deaths of four of them in a bomb blast near the “T4” airbase in February 2017.

ISIS Hunters: volunteer Russians in the eastern Homs countryside, most of whom fought in the Russian army before; this militia consists of 100 Russian fighters who receive high salaries for supporting al-Assad’s forces.

Wagner group mercenaries: Photos shared by Russian war correspondents in Syria showed the participation of Wagner mercenaries in Palmyra.

Local militias

The National Defense and the Falcons of the Storm militia affiliated with the Syrian National Party also participated in the battle of Palmyra last year, and are currently involved in battles to reclaim the city, as indicated by their accounts on social media.

Al-Ridha Forces, a militia composed of fighters from loyal villages in western Homs countryside, who receive training from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

Iranian militias

Basij Forces are the paramilitary forces of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, the most powerful Iranian arm in Syria, and participated in most battles of the regime’s forces in northern, southern, and central Syria at that time.

Fatemyioun, an Afghan militia supported by Iran, sent by Iran to support the Syrian regime. According to what Enab Baladi observed on the militia’s Telegram account, it still has a presence today, conducts military training in the area, and publishes the names of its members who were killed in the battles of Palmyra.

Imam Ali Brigades, a Shiite militia affiliated with the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces, announced its participation in the clashes in Palmyra, under the supervision of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps as well.

Lebanese Hezbollah had a presence in the battle of Palmyra, especially on the western axis of the battle.

Prevention of return

After controlling Palmyra in March 2017, Iran worked to solidify the presence and influence of its militias in the Palmyra area and eastern Homs countryside, and the distraction of Russia with the war in Ukraine since February 24, 2022, provided an additional opportunity to achieve this.

Iranian militias prevented many of Palmyra’s residents from returning to their homes, especially in neighborhoods close to the archaeological city.

They also settled in several famous hotels in the ancient city, including the Meridian Palmyra Hotel, Zenobia Hotel, and a series of Ghassan Saad Hotels, in addition to establishing several military checkpoints, the most prominent of which is at the entrance of the eastern neighborhood, known as the Hotel Checkpoint.

The prevention of residents forced them to stay outside the city or move to other neighborhoods.

The Council of Tribes of Palmyra and the Syrian Badia warned against Iranian infiltration and emphasized the need to confront Iranian expansion in the region and the followers of Iranian militias, standing against the demographic changes that Iranian militias are implementing in the city of Palmyra and its surroundings.

The council stated in a previous statement that Iran has begun building hundreds of houses and also buying many by intimidation, seizing gas stations, shops, and agricultural lands, repurposing them to establish an economic system that it manages and benefits from, especially in Palmyra.

According to a study by the Jusoor for Studies Center, Iran possesses 529 military sites as of mid this year, and is the state with the largest military presence in Syria compared to other foreign forces.

By reviewing the military deployment map of the Jusoor Center, one finds that there are seven military sites in Palmyra, five sites in the city of al-Sukhnah east of Palmyra, and two sites to its west.

The Iranian military sites in Syria, according to Jusoor Center, consist of 52 military bases and 477 points, distributed across 117 sites in Aleppo, 109 in the rural Damascus, 77 in Deir Ezzor, 67 in Homs, 28 in Hama, 27 in Idlib, 20 in Quneitra, 17 in Latakia, 16 in Daraa, 14 in Raqqa, 13 in As-Suwayda, 9 in Tartus, 8 in al-Hasakah, and 7 in Damascus.