Militants from the Islamic State have blown up an ancient temple in Palmyra as the ISIS campaign of destroying historical sites in Syria continued.
The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Sunday that ISIS fighters used "a large quantity of explosives" around one of the best preserved temples in Syria, the Temple of Baalshamin,
according to The New York Times.
Reporters were told by Syrian officials that the temple was heavily damaged by the explosives. Irina Bokova, director-general of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization issued a
statement about the reported explosion.
"The systematic destruction of cultural symbols embodying Syrian cultural diversity reveals the true intent of such attacks, which is to deprive the Syrian people of its knowledge, its identity and history," said Bokova.
"One week after the killing of Professor Khaled al-Assaad, the archaeologist who had looked after Palmyra's ruins for four decades, this destruction is a new war crime and an immense loss for the Syrian people and for humanity," he said.
UNESCO said the temple dated back to the Roman era and was erected in the first century A.D. It was part of the larger site of Palmyra that includes cultural centers from the ancient world and is noted for its Greco-Roman monumental ruins.''
"The art and architecture of Palmyra, standing at the crossroads of several civilizations, is a symbol of the complexity and wealth of the Syrian identity and history," said Bokova.
The
BBC News said Palmyra is a considered an UNESCO World Heritage site built nearly 2,000 years ago.
The Islamic State has been charged with destroying several ancient sites in Iraq, believing such shrines or statues implies the existence of another deity and should be should be destroyed.
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