ISIS destroyed the Arch of Triumph in Palmyra

A 2000-year-old Roman city is now demolished in Syria as the last monument had been blown up there yesterday. ISIS was bombing the area since August.


ISIS seized the ancient city of Palmyra in this May, with the open intent to enlarge their calliphate in Syria. Their idea is to demolish all the statues depicting any gods so that time they had promised that they would leave most of the ruins intact. They actually released 87 seconds of footage about the undamaged sites, so archeologists and the public could sit back hoping that the terror group will keep their word.



It did not happen. Two important temples were destroyed - in August first the temple of Baal Shamin, then in the last days of the month the Temple of Bel. Satellite images confirm that militants blew up some of the most well-preserved funeral towers in the city as well. Now they demolished one of the last surviving artifacts of the so-called "Venice of the Sands", the Arch of Triumph on Sunday.

UNESCO and the public obviously condemns the act and considers it as a war crime. The area has been a World Heritage Site since 1980, tempting once loads of tourists there every year. Syria´s leader archeologist said "It is now wanton destruction ... their acts of vengeance are no longer ideologically driven because they are now blowing up buildings with no religious meaning."

ISIS still owns some world heritage sites under their control in Syria.

Sources: The Guardian, Dailymail, Jpost, Reuters, BBC, CNN

Bence Szabó