ISIS destroys 2,000-year-old temple in Syria
| Beirut
The Islamic State group released propaganda images Tuesday that purport to show militants laying explosives in and then blowing up the 2,000-year-old聽temple聽of Baalshamin in Syria's ancient caravan city of聽Palmyra.
The images, posted on social media by supporters of the group, showed militants carrying barrels of explosives and laying them inside the聽temple. Other, smaller wired cans lay around the temple聽walls and columns. Another image shows a grey plume of smoke rising above the聽temple聽from a distance, followed by an image of the聽temple聽reduced to a pile of rocks. One caption reads: "The complete destruction of the pagan Baalshamin聽temple."
The Associated Press could not independently verify the images. However, they were released like other group propaganda and carried a logo ISIS often used in the city of聽Palmyra, in Syria's central Homs province.
The images also corresponded to prior AP reporting. A resident of聽Palmyra聽had told the AP the聽temple聽was destroyed on Sunday, a month after the group's militants booby-trapped it with explosives.
The UN cultural agency UNESCO on Monday called the destruction of the聽temple .
Irina Bokova, the Unesco chief, said in a statement: 鈥淭his destruction is a new war crime and an immense loss for the Syrian people and for humanity. Daesh (Isis) is killing people and destroying sites, but cannot silence history and will ultimately fail to erase this great culture from the memory of the world.
The聽temple, a structure of giant stone blocks several stories high fronted by six towering columns, was dedicated to a god of storm and rain 鈥� the name means literally "Lord of the Heavens." It was part of a sprawling Roman-era complex that includes other remains of聽temples聽to local gods and goddesses, including the even larger and slightly older聽Temple聽of Bel. Experts and residents fear the group will destroy the other ruins.
The Islamic State group, which has imposed a violent interpretation of Islamic law across its self-declared "caliphate" straddling Syria and Iraq, says such ancient relics promote idolatry. It already has blown up several sites in neighboring Iraq, and it is also believed to sell looted antiquities.
The group seized control of聽Palmyra, in the central deserts of Syria, in May.
