Syria’s Temple of Bel totally destroyed by IS explosions: UN

The UN says a satellite image indicates the Temple of Bel in Syria’s Palmyra has been totally destroyed by explosions set off by the Islamic State (IS), the BBC reports.

News Deskbdnews24.com
Published : 1 Sept 2015, 04:46 AM
Updated : 1 Sept 2015, 07:10 AM

There had been reports earlier that the explosion caused partial damage, but UN satellite analysts say that almost nothing remains of the 2,000-year-old site.
 
The United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) has posted a satellite image on Twitter taken by its Operational Satellite and Application Programmes (UNOSAT) on Tuesday.
 
Dedicated to the Palmyrene gods, the Temple of Bel was one of the best-preserved parts of the ancient city, in the desert north-east of the capital Damascus.
 
"Unfortunately, the images we acquired do show that the main building of the temple has been destroyed," UNOSAT manager Einar Bjorgo told the BBC.
 
IS seized Palmyra in May from government forces and it is the second temple that has been targeted.
 

A general view of the Temple of Bel. File photo: Reuters

On Saturday, militants set off an explosion at the site. The Syrian authorities said that the basic structure of the temple was intact despite the explosions. 
A week ago, the group detonated explosives in the ancient Baal Shamin temple in Palmyra, which was confirmed by images released by the militants.
UNESCO has called the acts a war crime aimed at wiping out symbols of Syria's diverse cultural heritage.
The Islamic State, which has proclaimed a caliphate in territory it holds across Syria and Iraq, has regularly demolished monuments it considers sacrilegious. It has also carried out mass killings.