Syrian government forces and allied militiamen, backed by airstrikes, have made further advances into Palmyra, the ancient city that fell to Islamic State (IS) last May.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said they had taken up positions in three neighbourhoods in the modern town.
State-run television also said the army was advancing inside Palmyra.
It broadcast footage from the slopes of the medieval citadel, which was seized by the army on Friday, showing tanks and armoured vehicles firing at IS targets.
Waves of explosions hit buildings, and smoke could be seen rising from a number of locations.
Palmyra's recapture would mark the biggest reversal for IS since Russia's intervention in the five-year conflict.
The city, affectionately known as the "bride of the desert," used to attract tens of thousands of tourists every year.
After taking it over IS demolished some of the best-known monuments at the UNESCO world heritage site.
The extremist group believes the ancient ruins promote idolatry.
The fate of the archaeological site was not immediately clear.on Saturday.
Some reports said there was still fighting in the area, while the Observatory said government forces had retaken it.
The head of the antiquities authority has meanwhile promised to restore the ancient Roman temples and triumphal arch dynamited by IS.
Mamoun Abdelkarim told Reuters work would begin once IS had been driven from Palmyra, hopefully within days.
He said it would act "as a message against terrorism".
He added: "We will rebuild (the monuments) with the stones that remain, and with the remaining columns. (We will) bring life back to Palmyra."
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