ISIS thugs destroy part of Palmyra’s beautiful ancient Roman ampitheatre after retaking city from Bashar al-Assad last month
SICK ISIS thugs have destroyed part of the iconic amphitheatre in the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra after retaking it from government forces.
The jihadis destroyed countless priceless artefacts and executed the director of the museum during their previous stint in possession of the area.
Syria's state run news agency Sana said the jihadis have now done unspeakable damage to the Roman amphitheatre in which the Russians held a classical music concert after driving the militants out less than a year ago.
Sana said the fanatics destroyed "the facade" of the second-century arena along with the tetrapylon – a cubic shaped ancient Roman monument.
Maamoun Abdulkarim, the head of Syria's antiquities department said reports of the destruction first trickled out of the town in December.
But satellite images have only yesterday confirmed the sad news.
The imagery, provided by the US-based American Schools of Oriental Research (Asor), shows significant damage to the tetrapylon and the theatre.
Abdulkarim said only two of the tetrapylon’s 16 columns remain standing.
The beautiful backdrop to the stage has also sustained damage, Asor confirmed.
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Palmyra is in Syria’s largest province, Homs, which is mostly under government control and was a former tourist hotspot before the civil war broke out in 2011.
It was re-captured by the Syrian government – backed by Russian airstrikes – in March last year after ten months under ISIS rule.
But the jihadis recaptured the city in December, fighting their way into the town via several military bases, forcing government forces to retreat to the south.
The state news agency said at the time that the terror group received reinforcements from its “capital” in Raqqa, enabling them to attack in huge numbers.
During their first stay, from May 2015 until May 2016, ISIS destroyed ancient temples including the Temple of Bel, which dated back to AD 32, and the Temple of Baalshamin, a structure of stone blocks several stories high fronted by six towering columns.
The militants also blew up the Arch of Triumph, which had been built under Roman emperor Septimius Severus between AD 193 and AD 211.
A UNESCO world heritage site, Palmyra boasts 2,000-year-old towering Roman-era colonnades and priceless artefacts.
Syrians affectionately refer to it as the "Bride of the Desert".
The extremists have destroyed ancient sites across their self-styled Islamic caliphate in Syria and Iraq, viewing them as monuments to idolatry.
A desert oasis surrounded by palm trees in central Syria, Palmyra is also a strategic crossroads linking the Syrian capital, Damascus, with the country's east and neighbouring Iraq.
Located 155 miles east of Damascus, the city was once home to 65,000 people before the Syrian civil war began.
However, most Palmyra residents did not return after it was retaken by the government. Activists estimated the city is now home to a few hundred families.
Many of them tried to flee as ISIS recaptured the city in December.
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