Isis has released a series of images which purport to show the destruction of the Temple of Bel in Palmyra, one of Syria’s finest ancient structures.
The destruction of the 2,000-year-old temple was first reported in late August, but confusion surrounded the extent of the damage until the UN released satellite images showing almost nothing was left standing.
Pictures in Isis’s propaganda magazine Dabiq, released late on Wednesday, show for the first time the destruction of the Temple of Bel on the ground.
The series of images show militants placing blue barrels, purportedly filled with explosives, around the temple’s central structure.
Photographs capture the moment of detonation itself, as well as a shot of the aftermath showing the almost complete destruction of the ancient site.
Low-quality images in Dabiq appear to show militants lining the Temple of Bel with explosives
Isis first seized control of Palmyra in May, but after breaking up some smaller statues issued a statement suggesting it would leave the larger ruins unharmed.
It made it all the more shocking when, in mid-August, it released a similar set of photographs showing the demolition of the Baalshamin Temple, perhaps the best-preserved structure at the site.
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Satellite images show destruction of Temple of Bel
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The confines of Palmyra were designated a Unesco World Heritage site in 1980, and Unesco’s director-general Irina Bokova has said Isis’s actions there amount to “war crimes”. Ancient monuments under Isis threat
“Extremists seek to destroy this diversity and richness, and I call on the international community to stand united against this persistent cultural cleansing,” she said.
