Islamic State beheads 82-year-old antiquities expert in Palmyra

In June, Islamic State did blow up two ancient shrines in Palmyra that were not part of its Roman-era structures but which the militants regarded as pagan and sacrilegious.

Mr Abdulkarim said Mr al-Assaad had been detained by ISIS last month along with his son, Walid, the current antiquities director for Palmyra, who was later released. Reports claim Daesh had been questioning Asaad about where Palmyra’s prized antiquities were held, killing him after he refused to give up the information.

Isis beheaded Khaled Al-Asaad in a public square in Palmyra in front of dozens of onlookers, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said on its website on Tuesday. Militants then hung his body from a Roman column at an archeological site in Palmyra.

While there is no evidence to suggest the terrorists have damaged any of the city’s artifacts, al-Asaad’s Tuesday execution deprived the country of one of its most celebrated scholars.

The death of Khaled al-Asaad – whose age has been reported as both 81 and 82 by different media outlets – was confirmed by his relatives, according to the Associated Press.

Asaad’s son-in-law Khalil Hariri said his father-in-law had been a member of President Bashar Asaad’s ruling Baath party since 1954.

“It is different to what you might get from a book or a lecture…so it is irreplaceable, ” he said, adding that Mr al-Asaad was always “very charming and welcoming” and willing to share his knowledge.

IS overran Palmyra in May, pushing out government forces and prompting fears for the ancient ruins and antiquities displayed in the town’s museum.

Since its capture, the ancient site of Palmyra remains intact although a lion statue in the town dating back to the 2nd century has been destroyed. “He knew every aspect of Palmyra”, says Amr al-Azm, an archeologist who works with a secret network of activists trying to safeguard Syria’s cultural heritage. “The continued presence of these criminals in the city is a curse and bad omen on the city and every archaeological piece in it”.

Islamic State radicals stormed a site of ancient religious ruins recently and demanded from its 82-year-old caretaker locations of its most precious artifacts. The statue, discovered in 1975, had stood at the gates of the city’s museum.

The killing is one of hundreds that have been carried out by Isis in and around Palmyra since they took the city.