An unverified video has emerged purporting to show ISIL militants raising the group’s flag over a government building in the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra. <br /><br /> The country’s antiquities chief maintains the government is still in control of the municipality, but says fighting is ongoing two kilometres away from the world heritage site. <br /><br /> Recent reports suggest ISIL has advanced from eastern strongholds to surround the central Syrian town.<br /><br /> According to UNESCO, Palmyra dates back to the 1st century AD. The UN agency considers it one of the most important cultural sites in the Middle East. ISIL recently destroyed a number of antiquities in Iraq. Fears are growing that Palmyra will suffer a similar fate.<br /><br /> Syria’s borders<br /><br /> Lebanon<br /><br /> Lebanon’s Shiite Hezbollah group claims it and Syrian government forces have pushed fighters from ISIL and the al-Qaeda-affiliated Nusra Front out of a mountain range in Qalamoun, on the border the country shares with Syria. <br /><br /> Turkey<br /><br /> Officials in Turkey
