Syria army retakes Palmyra citadel, IS number two 'dead'

The Islamic State group suffered a double setback in Syria Friday as army troops recaptured the ancient citadel in Palmyra and the Pentagon said the jihadists' second-in-command was killed in a US raid. The fresh gains in Palmyra by Syrian troops backed by allied militia and Russian warplanes came nearly a year after IS overran the UNESCO world heritage site, sparking global concern. The regime advance came after US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russia's President Vladimir Putin agreed to in