UN: Palmyra’s Temple of Bel Destroyed

Local Editor

A satellite image confirms that the main temple in the ancient city of Palmyra in northern Syria has been destroyed, the United Nations said.

There had been earlier reports of an explosion at the Temple of Bel in Palmyra, which is held by militants from the "ISIL" group.

Syria's antiquities chief had earlier said the basic structure of the 2,000-year-old site was intact. But UN satellite analysts UNOSAT said the image shows almost nothing remains.

"Unfortunately, the images we acquired do show that the main building of the temple has been destroyed," Einar Bjorgo, UNOSAT'S manager declared early on Tuesday.

Furthermore, he added that a set of columns nearby had also been flattened.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization [UNESCO] said the Temple of Bel was one of the most important religious buildings of the 1st Century AD in the East and was of unique design.

On Monday, Maamoun Abdul Karim, the head of the Syrian Department of Antiquities and Museums, had said the Temple of Bel suffered a large explosion, but that he believed most of the site had remained intact.

Nonetheless, witnesses struggled to get close to the site to confirm the extent of the damage.

"ISIL" had previously targeted historical sites in areas under its control in Iraq and Syria, regarding their ancient temples and sculptures as heretical.

The sale of looted antiquities is one of the group's main sources of funding. It had also been accused of destroying ancient sites to gain publicity.

Though, authorities removed hundreds of statues and priceless objects before "ISIL" tightened its grip on Palmyra earlier this year.

Last week, it was confirmed that another site at Palmyra, the Temple of Baalshamin, had been blown up.

UNOSAT released satellite images showing the extent of the damage, proving that parts were heavily damaged or completely destroyed.

"ISIL" militants seized control of Palmyra in May, sparking fears for the World Heritage site.

Earlier this month the group murdered 81-year-old Khaled al-Asaad, the archaeologist who had looked after the Palmyra ruins for 40 years.

The world-famous Greco-Roman ruins of Palmyra are in the desert north-east of the Syrian capital, Damascus.

Accordingly, Syrian government forces sought to drive "ISIL" out of the Palmyra area in recent months and there had been fierce fighting in nearby towns.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team