General News ISIL blow up ancient tombs in demolition of Palmyra

Aussie792 · Sep 5, 2015

Aljazeera said:

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group has blown up several of the Syrian city of Palmyra's famous tower tombs as it continues its destruction of the UNESCO-listed world heritage site, Syria's antiquities chief has confirmed.

Syrian antiquities director Maamoun Abdulkarim told news agencies on Friday that among at least seven tombs destroyed were the three best preserved and most treasured funerary towers, including the famed Tower of Elahbel built in 103 AD.

"We received reports 10 days ago but we've just confirmed the news," he told AFP.

"We obtained satellite images from the US-based Syrian Heritage Initiative, taken on September 2."
ISIL kills renowned archaeologist Khaled Asaad in Palmyra

News of the latest destruction comes days after the UN confirmed that Palmyra's masterpiece, the 2,000-year-old Temple of Bel, had been destroyed on Sunday last week.

The UN training and research agency UNITAR provided satellite images to confirm the famous structure's destruction, contradicting earlier reports that the ruins had been damaged but remained largely intact.

A week earlier, ISIL destroyed Palmyra's smaller Baal Shamin temple, confirming the worst fears about their intentions for Palmyra, which they seized from Syrian government forces in May.

The UN's cultural agency UNESCO has described ISIL's campaign of destruction as a "war crime".

In mid-August the group also beheaded Khaled Asaad, a respected 82-year-old archaeologist who worked for 50 years as head of antiquities in the ancient city.
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ISIL blows up ancient tower tombs in Syria's Palmyra - Al Jazeera English

The deliberate destruction of cultural heritage is one of the most despicable things any group can do. To abolish memory of any world before Islam and to distort and appropriate the history of Islam itself is one of ISIL's more concerning crimes; in doing so, they could normalise a world in which they and their ilk are the only valid local actors of the past and present in the minds of those they conquer if their power is maintained for long enough.

Last month's news about the murder of a respected scholar is also heartbreaking, both for his own sake and for the knowledge and search for truth he represented in his distinguished life..

mrbuddha123 · Sep 11, 2015

Hi Aussie792, I totally agree with you, the crimes ISIS commit are beyond disgusting, they're subhuman and akin to the ignorance and horror seen in the Middle Ages. ISIS and all of it's spin-offs (plus it's Saudi backers) are probably one of the biggest threats to the free world in modern times... as dangerous as Communism and Fascism I'd say.

Gallatin · Sep 11, 2015

As someone who really appreciates and values history, the destruction of so many ancient places and artifacts by ISIS is truly disturbing and heartbreaking. And the execution of that scholar was absolutely vile and despicable.

KyleD · Sep 11, 2015

What horrible people they are!

General News ISIL blow up ancient tombs in demolition of Palmyra

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General News ISIL blow up ancient tombs in demolition of Palmyra

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