Syria: Town Retaken From Islamic State

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/05/world/middleeast/syria-town-retaken-from-islamic-state.html

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Syrian government troops fired guns in celebration amid smoldering buildings inside the town of Qaryatain on Monday, hours after recapturing it from retreating Islamic State militants who had abducted and terrorized dozens of Christian residents. Once a cherished pilgrimage site, much of the town’s St. Elian monastery, established in the fifth century, had been reduced to a pile of stones. Black smoke billowed from the western side of town where skirmishes continued. Near the central square, some residential and government buildings were completely destroyed, their top floors flattened. Others had gaping holes where they had taken direct artillery hits or were pockmarked by gunfire. Electricity poles and cables were broken and shredded; a snapped tree hung to one side.