ISIS militants have blown up the Arch of Triumph in the ancient city of Palmyra, Syrian officials and local sources say.
The Arch of Triumph was “pulverized” by the ISIS fighters who control the city, a Palmyra activist told AFP.
The monument is thought to have been built about 2,000 years ago.
ISIS has already destroyed two ancient temples at the site, described by UNESCO as one of the most important cultural centers of the ancient world.
“The Arch of Triumph was pulverized. ISIS has destroyed it,” Mohammad Hassan al-Homsi, an activist from Palmyra told AFP on October 5.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a group monitoring the conflict, said sources on the ground had confirmed the destruction.
Syrian antiquities chief Maamoun Abdulkarim also confirmed the news, and told Reuters news agency that if ISIS remains in control of Palmyra, “the city is doomed”.
UNESCO’s director general Irina Bokova has said the destruction constitutes a “war crime” and called on the international community to stand united against IS efforts to “deprive the Syrian people of its knowledge, its identity and history”.
ISIS believes shrines or statues represent idolatry, and should be destroyed.
In August, ISIS destroyed the ancient Temple of Baalshamin – one of the city’s best-known buildings built nearly 2,000 years ago.
The group has also published photos of militants destroying what it said were artifacts looted at Palmyra.
ISIS militants captured the historic site from Syrian government troops in May, amid a series of setbacks for forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad.
Syria’s conflict, which began in 2011, has left more than 250,000 dead and about half the country’s population displaced.
According to the United Nations, a satellite image confirms that Palmyra’s Temple of Bel in northern Syria has been destroyed.
There had been earlier reports of an explosion at Palmyra’s main temple, which is held by ISIS militants.
Syria’s antiquities chief had earlier said the basic structure of the 2,000-year-old site was intact.
However, UN satellite analysts UNOSAT say the image shows almost nothing remains.
On August 31, Maamoun Abdul Karim, the head of the Syrian Department of Antiquities and Museums, had said the Temple of Bel suffered a large explosion, but that he believed most of the site had remained intact.
Witnesses had struggled to get close to the site to confirm the extent of the damage.
ISIS has previously targeted historical sites in areas under its control in Iraq and Syria, regarding their ancient temples and sculptures as heretical.
The sale of looted antiquities is one of the group’s main sources of funding. It has also been accused of destroying ancient sites to gain publicity.
Authorities removed hundreds of statues and priceless objects before ISIS tightened its grip on Palmyra earlier this year.
Last week, it was confirmed that another site at Palmyra, the Temple of Baalshamin, had been blown up.
UNOSAT released satellite images showing the extent of the damage, proving that parts were heavily damaged or completely destroyed.
ISIS militants seized control of Palmyra in May, sparking fears for the World Heritage site.
Earlier this month the group murdered 81-year-old Khaled al-Asaad, the archaeologist who had looked after the Palmyra ruins for 40 years.
The world-famous Greco-Roman ruins of Palmyra are in the desert north-east of the Syrian capital, Damascus.
The Temple of Bel is dedicated to the Palmyrene gods and was one of the best-preserved parts of the ancient city of Palmyra.
Syrian government forces have sought to drive ISIS out of the Palmyra area in recent months and there has been fierce fighting in nearby towns.
ISIS has destroyed part of Palmyra’s Temple of Bel, which is considered the most important temple at the ancient Syrian site, activists and witnesses say.
The extent of the damage to the 2,000-year-old Temple of Bel is not clear but local residents have described being shaken by a large explosion.
The reports come a week after ISIS blew up another Palmyra temple.
ISIS seized control of Palmyra in May, sparking fears for the site.
The world-famous Greco-Roman ruins are in the desert north-east of the Syrian capital, Damascus.
“It is total destruction,” one Palmyra resident told the Associated Press news agency.
Photo Wikipedia
“The bricks and columns are on the ground.”
“It was an explosion the deaf would hear,” he went on, adding that only the wall of the temple remains.
The temple was dedicated to the Palmyrene gods and was one of the best preserved parts of the site.
It was several days after the initial reports of the destruction of another part of the site, the Temple of Baalshamin that ISIS itself put out pictures showing its militants blowing up the temple.
Satellite images have confirmed the destruction.
For the extremists, any representation implying the existence of a god other than theirs is sacrilege and idolatry.
Earlier this month ISIS murdered 81-year-old Khaled al-Asaad, the archaeologist who had looked after the Palmyra ruins for 40 years.
Khaled al-Asaad’s family told Syria’s director of antiquities that he had been beheaded.
UNESCO Director General Irina Bokova praised Khaled al-Asaad, saying ISIS “murdered a great man, but they will never silence history”.
The ancient city of Palmyra is a UNESCO World Heritage site and was a major tourist attraction before Syria descended into civil war.
UNESCO has condemned the deliberate destruction of Syria’s cultural heritage as a war crime.
The modern city of Palmyra – known locally as Tadmur – is situated in a strategically important area on the road between the Syrian capital, Damascus, and the eastern city of Deir al-Zour.
ISIS has used Palmyra’s theatre to stage the public execution by children of more than 20 captured Syrian army soldiers.
The militant group has ransacked and demolished several similar sites in the parts of neighboring Iraq which they overran last year, destroying priceless ancient artifacts.
The UN estimates that over 250,000 people have been killed in Syria since the war began in 2011.
Over 4 million people have fled Syria and 7.6 million are displaced inside the country.
According to new reports, ISIS has taken near complete control of the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra.
Palmyra is home to some of the world’s most magnificent ruins.
There are fears that the Islamic State militants will destroy the ruins, which UNESCO has designated a World Heritage site.
Syria has admitted it has pulled government troops out of Palmyra following the ISIS advance.
ISIS militants have demolished several ancient sites that pre-date Islam in Iraq, including Hatra and Nimrud.
Syrian state media said pro-government forces had been pulled out of Tadmur, the modern settlement on Palmyra, after “assuring the evacuation” of most of its inhabitants.
Photo UNESCO
Hundreds of Palmyra’s statues have been moved to safety but large monuments from the ancient parts of the city could not be moved.
Rising out of the desert, Palmyra contains the monumental ruins of a great city that was one of the most important cultural centers of the ancient world, according to UNESCO.
The site, most of which dates back to the 1st and 2nd Century when the region was under Roman rule, is dominated by a grand, colonnaded street.
UNESCO’s Director-General Irina Bokova said she was “deeply concerned” by the situation.
“The fighting is putting at risk one of the most significant sites in the Middle East, and its civilian population,” Irina Bokova said in a statement.
Palmyra is situated in a strategically important area on the road between the capital, Damascus, and the contested eastern city of Deir al-Zour, and is close to gas fields.
A United States-led coalition has carried out air strikes on the jihadist group’s positions since September 2014. However, it says it does not co-ordinate its actions with the Syrian government.
Meanwhile, the US said it was sending 1,000 anti-tank missiles to the Iraqi government following the fall of Ramadi to ISIS.
A third of Syrian town Tadmur, next to Palmyra, one of the Middle East’s greatest archaeological sites, has been captured by ISIS.
The Islamic State militants had overrun much of the north of Tadmur after fierce clashes with government forces, activists say.
Syria’s head of antiquities Maamoun Abdul Karim said the world had a responsibility to save Palmyra, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Hundreds of statues had been moved to safety, but large monuments could not be moved, Maamoun Abdul Karim warned.
ISIS militants have ransacked and demolished several ancient sites that pre-date Islam in Iraq, including Hatra and Nimrud, leading to fears that it might attempt to damage or destroy Palmyra.
On May 20, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said a third of Tadmur had been taken by ISIS after battles with government soldiers and allied militiamen.
Rising out of the desert and flanked by an oasis, Palmyra contains the monumental ruins of a great city that was one of the most important cultural centers of the ancient world, according to UNESCO.
The site, most of which dates back to the 1st to the 2nd Century when the region was under Roman rule, is dominated by a grand, colonnaded street.
Palmyra and Tadmur are situated in a strategically important area on the road between the capital, Damascus and the contested eastern city of Deir al-Zour, and close to gas fields.
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