"We have restored security and stability to the city of Palmyra, and established full control on the surrounding, commanding hills," the Syrian military said in its statement.
They briefly captured Mortain but were unable to breach the lines of the 30th Division, as the 2nd Battalion of the 120th Infantry Regiment commanded Hill 314, the dominant feature around Mortain.
The scoria cones that dominate the landscape in the west of the island – huge symmetrical piles of red grit such as Cross Hill, which towers almost 300 metres over Georgetown, or Command Hill, which overlooks the airbase - are steep on the windward side, less so on the lee.
It commands the hill as the Parthenon does the Acropolis, its immense roof a great airfoil or billowing sail appearing to lift the building off the earth, and simultaneously seeming to weigh it down, compress it.
The original site, on a sandstone hill commanding a crossing of the Trent, was occupied by the Anglo-Saxons in the 6th century.
Saying Hello On a hill commanding a view of Santa Fe, N.M., a new museum will open its doors to the public on Sunday.
Raisina Hill, commanding a view of the entire area, stood about 50 feet (15 metres) above the plain, but the top 20 feet (6 metres) were blasted off to make a level plateau for the major government buildings and to fill in depressions.
He complained directly to Air Marshal Roderick Hill, commanding Fighter Command at that time.
WHAT could be more perfect than an antique jewel of a farmhouse, perched on a hill and commanding spectacular mountain views as far as the eye can see?
