Russia: 1,000 ISIS casualties as Syrian troops retake Palmyra

At least 1,000 ISIS militants were killed or wounded by government forces and Russian aircraft as the Syrian military recaptured the city of Palmyra and surrounding areas from ISIS, Lt. Gen. Sergei Rudskoy of the Russian Ministry of Defense said Friday.

Rudskoy told reporters that the offensive was planned by Russian advisers and the Syrian military advance continues to the east of the ancient city.

Syrian army units seized Palmyra this week, liberating it after ISIS held it for several months.

Palmyra is seen as strategically important to both sides in Syria’s civil war, which has continued for more than five years.

Located in Homs province, in central Syria, Palmyra is around 225 kilometers (140 miles) from Raqqa, considered ISIS’ headquarters in Syria.

Before: The ruins of the 2,000-year-old Temple of Baalshamin are seen in Palmyra, Syria, in 2007. The ISIS militant group took over the ancient city last year and razed parts of its World Heritage Site. Syrian government forces recaptured the ancient city from the terror group in March 2016. Click through to see the landmarks before and after ISIS' occupation.

After: A Syrian government soldier walks near what's left of the Temple of Baalshamin on Sunday, March 27. Syrian forces retook the city days before, but damage had already been done by ISIS. UNESCO says it plans to evaluate the extent of Palmyra's damage soon. Many of the structures -- which date from the first and second centuries and marry Greco-Roman techniques with local traditions and Persian influences -- remain in place, bolstering hopes that ISIS didn't completely raze the world heritage site.

Before: The Arch of Triumph in 2006.

After: The Arch of Triumph on March 27.

Before: The Temple of Bel in 2008.

After: The Temple of Bel on March 27.

Destroyed statues are seen inside the damaged Palmyra Museum on March 27.

Many statues in the museum had their faces chipped off -- in keeping with strict Sharia interpretations of the depiction of human forms.

Before ISIS invaded, authorities took what they could from the museum. But larger items and those fixed to walls had to be left behind.

Destroyed statues inside the Palmyra Museum.

The Syrian directorate-general of antiquities and monuments was positive that the condition of artifacts meant that they could be restored and their "historic value" returned, according to a translation of an article on the department's website.

ISIS took over Palmyra in May.

By June, ISIS began destroying historical sites.

Damage inside the Palmyra Museum.

Palmyra was a caravan oasis when Romans overtook it in the mid-first century. In the centuries that followed, the area "stood at the crossroads of several civilizations" with its art and architecture mixing Greek, Roman and Persian influences, according to UNESCO.

How ISIS ravaged Palmyra's world treasures

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Control of Palmyra has passed from the regime to ISIS and back again a number of times.

Syrian forces recaptured the city from ISIS last March after it was seized the previous May, when ISIS started demolishing ancient ruins in the city.