(4 Apr 2016) Debris and dust covered much of the town of Qaryatain on Monday, a day after it was captured by Syrian pro-government forces from the Islamic State (IS) group.
The push into Qaryatain took place under the cover of Russian airstrikes and dealt another setback to IS in Syria a week after the army retook the historic town of Palmyra from the group.
Qaryatain used to be home to a sizable Christian population and lies midway between Palmyra and the capital, Damascus.
The 1500-year-old catholic monastery of Mar Elian has not been spared from the destruction, with rubble covering the church floor, graves being damaged and bones exposed in the churchyard.
Activists said last summer that Qaryatain had a mixed population of around 40,000 Sunni Muslims and Christians, as well as thousands of internally displaced people who had fled from the nearby city of Homs.
Many of the Christians fled the town after it came under attack by IS.
Dozens of Qaryatain's Christians and other residents have been abducted by IS.
While the town was under Islamic State control, some were released while others were made to sign pledges to pay a tax imposed on non-Muslims.
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