Palmyra's Arch of Triumph was built by the Romans in the second Century AD
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.
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, a 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
The Temple of Bel, pictured here in 2009, was the great sanctuary of the Palmyrene gods
- Unesco World Heritage site
- Site contains monumental ruins of great city, once one of the most important cultural centres of the ancient world
- Art and architecture, from the 1st and
2nd Centuries, combine Greco-Roman techniques with local traditions and
Persian influences
- More than 1,000 columns, a Roman aqueduct and a formidable necropolis of more than 500 tombs made up the archaeological site
- More than 150,000 tourists visited Palmyra every year before the Syrian conflict
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 believes shrines or statues represent idolatry, and should be destroyed.
In
August, the group 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.
IS
militants captured the historic site from Syrian government troops in
May, amid a series of setbacks for forces loyal to President Bashar
al-Assad.
Last week, Russia, one of Mr Assad's key backers,
launched air strikes in Syria, saying it was targeting IS and other
extremist groups.
But members of the US-led coalition that has
also been carrying out air strikes in Syria have strongly criticised the
move, saying Russia appeared to be targeting more moderate anti-Assad
rebels than IS.
Turkey, one of the countries to criticise Russia's
intervention, said it had intercepted a Russian warplane on Saturday in
Turkish airspace, and had summoned the Russian ambassador in protest.
Syria's conflict, which began in 2011, has left more than 250,000 dead and about half the country's population displaced.
Title : Islamic State 'blows up Palmyra arch'
Description : Palmyra's ...
