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Islamic State 'blows up Palmyra arch' | Islamic State 'blows up Palmyra arch' |
(about 1 hour later) | |
Islamic State militants in northern Syria have blown up another monument in the ancient city of Palmyra, officials and local sources say. | |
The Arch of Triumph was "pulverised" by the militants who control the city, a Palmyra activist told AFP news agency. | |
It is thought to have been built about 2,000 years ago. | It is thought to have been built about 2,000 years ago. |
IS fighters have already destroyed two ancient temples at the site, described by Unesco as one of the most important cultural centres of the ancient world. | |
"The Arch of Triumph was pulverised. IS has destroyed it," Mohammad Hassan al-Homsi, an activist from Palmyra told AFP on Monday. | |
The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an activist 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 IS remains in control of Palmyra, "the city is doomed". | |
Ancient city of Palmyra | Ancient city of Palmyra |
IS threat to 'Venice of the Sands' | IS threat to 'Venice of the Sands' |
History's lesson in how to save artefacts | History's lesson in how to save artefacts |
Understanding sadness at loss of sites | Understanding sadness at loss of sites |
Why IS destroys ancient sites | Why IS destroys ancient sites |
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". | |
IS militants captured the historic site from Syrian government forces in May, and proceeded to destroy some of the temples and artefacts. | |
The group believes any shrines or statues implying the existence of another deity are sacrilege and idolatry, and should be destroyed. | |
In August, IS 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 artefacts looted at Palmyra. |