Islamic State militants have destroyed Palmyra's ancient temple of Baalshamin, Syrian officials and activists say.
Syria's
head of antiquities was quoted as saying the temple was blown up on
Sunday. The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported
that it happened one month ago.
IS took control of Palmyra in May, sparking fears the group might demolish the Unesco World Heritage site.
The group has destroyed several ancient sites in Iraq.
IS
"placed a large quantity of explosives in the temple of Baalshamin
today and then blew it up causing much damage to the temple," Syrian
antiquities chief Maamoun Abdulkarim told AFP news agency.
"The cella (inner area of the temple) was destroyed and the columns around collapsed," he said.
Residents
who had fled from Palmyra also said IS had planted explosives at the
temple, although they had done it about one month ago, according to the
Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Last month, IS published photos of militants destroying what it said were artefacts looted at Palmyra.
Last week, it emerged
that the 81-year-old archaeologist who had looked after Palmyra's ruins
for four decades had been beheaded by the the militant group.
The
group has also published photos of what they said was the destruction
of two Islamic shrines near Palmyra, which they described as
"manifestations of polytheism".
The temple of Baalshamin dates
from the early 1st Century AD. It is dedicated to the Phoenician god of
storms and fertilising rains.
The modern city of Palmyra - known
locally as Tadmur - is situated in a strategically important area on the
road between the Syrian capital, Damascus, and the eastern city of Deir
al-Zour.
Nearby, the monumental ruins of the ancient city rise out of the desert. Unesco and others consider the site one of the most important cultural centres of the ancient world.
IS attacks on historical sites and artefacts
January: The group ransacks the central library in the Iraqi city of Mosul, burning thousands of books. February: A video emerges showing the destruction of ancient artefacts at the central museum in Mosul. March:
IS uses explosives and bulldozers on Nimrud, one of Iraq's greatest
archaeological treasures. Shortly after they destroy ruins at Hatra.
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