Experts to assess damage done by ISIS in ancient city of Palmyra

While several important structures in the ancient city of Palmyra, Syria, were destroyed by Islamic State fighters, the country's antiquities chief said "the landscape, in general, is in good shape."

Maamoun Abdelkarim said authorities were "expecting the worst," and while the Temple of Bel and Arch of Triumph were both demolished, the Agora and Roman theater survived. Syrian regime forces took control of the city on Saturday, 10 months after ISIS captured it, and archeologists will head to the city over the next few days to survey the damage. "We will issue a challenge to international terrorism, that no matter what you do you cannot erase our history, and we will not sit idle and weep over the ruins," Abdelkarim told The Guardian.

The Syrian military said it "restored security and stability" to the city, and also "established full control on the surrounding, commanding hills." Retreating ISIS fighters left behind mines and booby traps, The Guardian reports, and soldiers walked carefully around the ruins to avoid them. In the modern area of the city, rows of apartment buildings were destroyed during heavy fighting between ISIS and the regime. Catherine Garcia

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