IS blows up ancient temple in Syria

Jihadists with the Islamic State group have blown up a famous temple at Syria’s ruins of Palmyra, an official said, confirming fears they would destroy more world-class heritage sites, reports AFP from Beirut.
The destruction of the Baal Shamin temple, considered ancient Palmyra’s second-most significant temple, raised concerns for the rest of the UNESCO World Heritage-listed ruins. It comes only days after IS beheaded the 82-year-old retired chief archaeologist of Palmyra, sparking widespread condemnation.
“Our worst fears are sadly being realised,” Syria’s antiquities chief Maamoun Abdulkarim told AFP, as he confirmed the temple had been destroyed on Sunday.
Famed for its well-preserved Greco-Roman ruins, Palmyra was seized from government forces in May, prompting concerns IS might destroy it as it has done with heritage sites in parts of Syria and Iraq under its control.
Until Sunday, most of Palmyra’s best-known sites had been left intact, though there were reports IS had mined them and the group reportedly destroyed a well-known statue of a lion outside the city’s museum.
“Daesh placed a large quantity of explosives in the temple of Baal Shamin today and then blew it up,” Abdulkarim said on Sunday. “The cella (inner area of the temple) was destroyed and the columns around collapsed,” he said.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based group that monitors the country’s civil war, confirmed the destruction of the temple.
The Observatory said the temple had been destroyed a month ago. The discrepancy could not be immediately explained but information on Syria’s civil war is often unclear.

 

 

 

IS blows up ancient temple in Syria

Jihadists with the Islamic State group have blown up a famous temple at Syrias ruins of Palmyra, an official said, confirming fears they would destroy more world-class heritage sites, reports AFP from Beirut. The destruction of the Baal Shamin temple, considered ancient Palmyras second-most significant temple, raised concerns for the rest of the UNESCO World Heritage-listed ruins. It comes only days after IS beheaded the 82-year-old retired chief archaeologist of Palmyra, sparking widespread condemnation. Our worst fears are sadly being realised, Syrias antiquities chief Maamoun Abdulkarim told AFP, as he confirmed the temple had been destroyed on Sunday. Famed for its well-preserved Greco-Roman ruins, Palmyra was seized from government forces in May, prompting concerns IS might destroy it as it has done with heritage sites in parts of Syria and Iraq under its control. Until Sunday, most of Palmyras best-known sites had been left intact, though there were reports IS had mined them and the group reportedly destroyed a well-known statue of a lion outside the citys museum. Daesh placed a large quantity of explosives in the temple of Baal Shamin today and then blew it up, Abdulkarim said on Sunday. The cella (inner area of the temple) was destroyed and the columns around collapsed, he said. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based group that monitors the countrys civil war, confirmed the destruction of the temple. The Observatory said the temple had been destroyed a month ago. The discrepancy could not be immediately explained but information on Syrias civil war is often unclear.