Music washes away IS filth in Palmyra

Leading Russian musicians on Thursday staged a classical concert in the ancient theatre of Syria's ravaged Palmyra in a show by the Kremlin to herald its successes in the war-torn country.

Famed conductor Valery Gergiev led Saint Petersburg's celebrated Mariinsky orchestra through pieces by Johann Sebastian Bach, Sergei Prokofiev and Rodion Shchedrin in front of a crowd of Russian soldiers, government ministers and journalists.

Cellist Sergei Roldugin -- a personal friend of President Vladimir Putin -- played a solo against the backdrop of the Roman amphitheatre where jihadists from the Islamic State group staged mass executions less than a year ago.

"Thank you for today's amazing humanitarian act -- the concert in a Palmyra liberated from terrorists," Putin said in an address from Russia broadcast at the start of the concert.

"I see it as a sign of gratitude, of remembrance, of hope," Putin said.

Syrian troops backed by Russian air strikes and special forces on the ground recaptured UNESCO world heritage site Palmyra from Islamic State group fighters in March. Russian army sappers said last month they had demined the ancient site -- known as the "Pearl of the Desert" -- where jihadist fighters blew up ancient temples and looted relics.