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IS destroys ancient Palmyra Arch of Triumph
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] SIS has blown up the famous Arch of Triumph in the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra, the country's head of antiquities said on Monday, as the gunnies press their campaign to tear down the treasured heritage site.

"We have received news from the site that the Arch of Triumph was destroyed yesterday (Sunday). ISIS bobby-trapped it several weeks ago," antiquities director Maamun Abdulkarim told AFP.

Irina Bokova said the U.N.'s scientific and cultural body would make every effort "to make sure that the perpetrators of the destruction are tried and punished."
UNESCO's director-general on Monday condemned the destruction saying "gunnies are terrified by history and culture."

Irina Bokova said the U.N.'s scientific and cultural body would make every effort "to make sure that the perpetrators of the destruction are tried and punished."

ISIS has carried out a sustained campaign of destruction against heritage sites in areas under its control in Syria and Iraq, and in mid-August beheaded the ancient city's 82-year-old former antiquities chief.

ISIS gunnies have already destroyed the shrine of Baal Shamin and the 2,000-year-old Temple of Bel, regarded as Palmyra's masterpiece, since overrunning the citadel in May.

The Arch of Triumph, situated at the entrance of the ancient ruins' historic colonnaded street, was an "icon of Palmyra," Abdulkarim said, warning that ISIS fighters have already laid explosives in other monuments.

"This is a systematic destruction of the city. They want to raze it completely," he said.
Posted by: Fred 2015-10-06
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=431634