Temple of Bel
Russian planes hit Islamic State targets in Syrian city of Palmyra, Syrian television reported Tuesday. This photo distributed by Islamic State militants on social media on Aug. 25, 2015, purports to show the destruction of a Roman-era Temple of Bel in Palmyra. Reuters/Social Media

Russian planes bombed Islamic State group targets in the Syrian city of Palmyra and northern province of Aleppo, Syrian state television said Tuesday, citing a military official. This is Russia’s first airstrike in the ISIS-controlled region of Palmyra.

"The Russian air force in coordination with the Syrian air force targeted positions held by the Islamic State group in and around the city of Palmyra," Hezbollah’s Al-Manar television reported, quoting the official, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP).

The airstrikes destroyed 20 armored vehicles and three weapons depots in the ancient city that fell to ISIS in May and Russian warplanes targeted the towns of Al-Bab and Deir Hafer in Aleppo, Reuters reported, citing the network. Moscow has carried out several strikes since it began its air campaign in Syria last Wednesday.

On Sunday, ISIS blew up the Arch of Triumph, a prominent monument in the 2,000-year-old city of Palmyra. Earlier this month, the hardline Sunni group confirmed that it destroyed Palmyra’s funeral towers -- sandstone structures built to contain the city’s richest families -- and in August, the group razed the famous Temple of Bel.

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