The ancient city of Palmyra was recently liberated from the Islamic State jihadists in central Syria. Russia Today correspondent Lizzie Phelan visited the ‘pearl of the desert’ and checked what remained of the UNESCO World Heritage Site after ISIS took hold of the city and its ancient archaeological treasures last year and subjected it to wanton destruction, as with all cultural sites and artifacts that fall under their hands. Russia Today reports: Just getting to Palmyra is a challenge. Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) mined the entrances to the world-famous site, which have been painstakingly cleared by the Syrian Army, with Russian assistance. RT’s Lizzie Phelan was one of the first journalists to set foot in Palmyra since the site was captured by IS militants in May 2015. “It’s quite incredible to be standing here in the pearl of the desert – the ancient city of Palmyra that for months people around the world feared would be reduced to dust by ISIS,” she said. Phelan confirmed that large parts of the centuries-old artifacts have been damaged, such as the Temple of Bel and the Arch of Triumph, but some of the historic relics are still standing. Phelan visited what is [...]