The first images from the ancient city of Palmyra which has been seized by ISIS jihadists, have shocked the world.

With smoke over the ancient ruins and photos of beheaded and executed people in the streets, Palmyra is now in the hands of the jihadists, according to the Syrian Observatory of Human Rights.

The jihadists already possess a large swath across Syria, especially in the north and east. Only yesterday they took the city of Palmyra, a big urban center, after battles with Syrian government forces.

The Syrian army is focused on guarding the western part of the country, where Homs and Damascus are situated. Now, with Palmyra’s fall, a city which dates back over 2000 years, there are serious worries over the fate of the irreplaceable ancient ruins. According to the Observatory, the battle in Palmyra and its outskirts which began on the 13th of May has caused the death of at least 462 people, 71 innocents included, out of which most were executed whereas 241 government soldiers were killed, and 150 jihadists.

After the fall of Palmyra in the midst of the Syrian desert which borders Iraq, ISIS controls more than 95,000 square km in Syria, which is a total of 50% of the country.

ISIS also holds most of the oil wells and natural gas reserves of Syria after they took over two natural gas fields near Palmyra. The government only controls some oil wells near Homs, while Kurdish forces control oil wells in the north.