Russian Defence Ministry released a video on Wednesday (April 6) showing teams of military sappers searching for mines in the historic part of the Syrian city of Palmyra.

According to the ministry, the sappers have already cleared more than 0,2 square kilometres of land from mines. Part of the job was performed by Uran-6 de-mining robots which can be remotely controlled from around 1 km (half a mile).

Russian Defence Ministry said 152 explosive devices were defused.

The video showed de-mining robots at work as well as teams of sappers walking through ancient ruins of Palmyra with metal detectors.

Palmyra was recaptured by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s forces on March 27.

The sappers have to examine and de-mine over 180 hectares of Palmyra’s territory, Russia’s defence ministry said on April 2. The aim is to clear the historic part of the ancient city and residential areas.

The overall task of clearing Palmyra, which military sources have told Russian media will involve at least 100 servicemen, is expected to take several months.