Destruction at Palmyra a ‘War Crime — UNESCO Chief

Islamic State monsters have destroyed one of the world’s most revered ancient ruins the temple of Baalshamin, Syrian officials have said. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the conflict, reported on the same day that its sources said ISIS blew up the temple about a month ago.

Their latest execution was against a Khaled Asaad, a prominent Syrian archeologist, who had lived in Palmyra for most of his life and dedicated his carrier to study the archeological sites of Palmyra.

In May 2015, Palmyra, the ancient city of the Syrian desert fell into the hands of jihadists of the Islamic State (EI), Palmyra is famous for its Roman twisted colonnades, its temples and burial towers, remains of a brilliant past.

“I am seeing Palmyra being destroyed in front of my eyes“, Dr. Maamoun Abdul-Karim, the head of Syria’s Directorate of Antiquities and Museums, told Reuters.

IS, which controls swathes of Syria and neighbouring Iraq, captured Palmyra on May 21, sparking worldwide concern concerning the destiny of the heritage website described by UNESCO as of “excellent common worth”.

The already burgeoning list of appalling acts by ISIS appears to have grown even longer: the Islamic extremist group has reportedly blown up a almost 2,000-year-old temple in the historic ruins of Palmyra in Syria.

“Our darkest predictions are unfortunately taking place,” said Abdulkarim.

ISIS’s harsh version of Islam considers statues and grave markers to be idolatrous, and the group has destroyed antiquities and heritage sites in territory under its control in Syria and Iraq. They saw the worldwide reaction to the death of Asaad and how Palmyra is important in the heart of all the people in the world and they want to show that they are strong.

Palmyra, also known as the Pearl of Desert and Tadmur, is located 215 km to the northeast of the Syrian capital Damascus and is a World Heritage Site because of its architecture.

IS claim ancient relics promote idolatry and say they are destroying them as part of their purge of paganism.

The group is also suspected of trying to sell artifacts on the black market to raise millions of pounds for terrorist activities. An indication of this was provided last month, when pictures emerged of militants destroying artefacts looted from the ancient ruins of Palmyra. The militants, considering these structures pagan and sacrilegious, mined the ancient site and destroyed the lion statue of Athena that stood three meters high, a unique art work made of limestone.