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ISLAMIC STATE EXTREMISTS have blown up the famous Arch of Triumph in the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra, the country’s head of antiquities said, as the jihadists press their campaign to tear down the treasured heritage site.
The militants have carried out a sustained campaign of destruction against heritage sites in areas under their control in Syria and Iraq, and in mid-August beheaded Palmyra’s 82-year-old former antiquities chief.
Syrian antiquities director Maamun Abdulkarim warned of impending catastrophe in the UNESCO-listed world heritage site, which the jihadists have been dismantling since capturing the ruins in May.
“This is a systematic destruction of the city. They want to raze it completely,” Abdulkarim told AFP.
“They want to destroy the amphitheatre, the colonnade. We now fear for the entire city,” he added, calling on the international community to “find a way to save Palmyra”.
Known as the “Pearl of the Desert”, the ancient oasis town of Palmyra situated about 210 kilometres northeast of Damascus became famous as a stopping point for caravans travelling on the Silk Road.
Both the citadel and the ruins are on the UNESCO World Heritage list, and before the war around 150,000 tourists a year visited Palmyra.
Sunni extremist group IS has already destroyed the shrine of Baal Shamin and the 2,000-year-old Temple of Bel, regarded as Palmyra’s masterpiece, as part of a campaign to destroy pre-Islamic monuments, tombs and statues it considers idolatrous.
Experts say the militants have used the destruction to raise their profile to attract new recruits, and are also funding their “caliphate” by selling artifacts on the black market.
Syria’s archaeology association, the APSA, says that more than 900 monuments and archeological sites have been looted, damaged or destroyed during the four-year civil war.
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hopefully Russia blow the hell out of Isis.
Unfortunately Russia is barely engaging them
But they are engaging them. They certainly are not arming them unlike others. If it walks like a terrorist, shoots like a terrorist, is a terrorist then blow them the hell up.
Russia are engaging all Jihadists including the so-called ‘moderate’ head choppers such as Al Nusra and Army of Conquest.
anyone who can read a map and who is capable of some analysis can see that Russia’s aim is solely self interest.
Anyone that hasn’t got rose tinted glasses can see that the west and Saudi Arabia ain’t in Syria to help the people. It’s all self interest. Wonder Tony why the west can’t stop Isis refining, shipping ,selling oil, can’t see the tankers Isis uses. Can’t trace the money. Why is that? Agenda maybe.
@littleone, no rose tinted glasses here. there are agendas on all sides. unfortunately the rose tinted glasses are on for some who seem to be supporting Russian intervention which really is doing nothing but supporting a brutal regime. pointing that out is no endorsement of any other nation or group involved in this conflict.
Tony Canning_ Russia is on the defensive same as in Ukraine defending itself from the Evil power grabbing murderous monster that has its ropes pulled by the Pentagon and Tel aviv…
Good article: Thank you Mr. Putin, for finally doing what others had been paid to do, but chose not to.
A brutal regime maybe but over a million refugees are fleeing the alternative.
Tony , its funny that it only became a brutal regime after the Iran, Iraq, Syria pipeline which was signed in 2011, the same year trouble started in Syria. And shortly after Isis popped up. Before this Assad was great friends with the west . In July 2011 Iran, Iraq and Syria said they planned to sign a contract potentially worth around $6bn to construct a pipeline running from South Pars towards Europe, via these countries and Lebanon and then under the Mediterranean to a European country, with a refinery and related infrastructure in Damascus.[1
You really suffer from horrific anti-Americanism. You’re going to burst a blood vessel with your faux outrage. In another era you’d be one of those poor deluded fools who thought the Soviets were really benign and were just defending themselves against US aggression.
Robert you suffer from something alright. Not being able to read is one. I don’t even mention America in my comments. So get your facts right . where am I anti American.
I was replying to that lunatic Pronnsias not you.
Robert Cousins _ America is now totally out of control, they have lost the plot.
That is my reason…
There really seems to be a lot of willful ignorance going on around all of this. It doesn’t seem to matter how much people acknowledge the failings of the west in this conflict and others before it – few seem willing to acknowledge that Russia is not some kind of great saviour of the Syrian people.
There are a ton of facts around this situation that people like Frank above appear completely incapable of acknowledging.
Assad is not some kind of beatific secular leader – and was brutal long before 2011. The US’s mistakes doesn’t cancel out the pain currently being inflicted on the ordinary people of Syria.
People are not stupid They know exactly what kind of entity the Assad government. One only has to take a glance across the region to see it is positively progressive compared to some of Syria’ s neighbouring countries. If Assad falls a sectarian bloodbath unlike any seen before will commence.
It has seem that after all the media bull that Isis has been given a serious blow after Russia blew the hell out of some of them lately.
You never thought that some of the Isil rebels are pretending not to be Isil in order to get the support or intel they need to overthrow Assad from the West?
Congratulations lads, you’ve just taken the human race down another notch.
No wait Stephen, I’m sure these knuckleheads will be enhancing the area with plenty of art and architecture. There is something regressive and depressing when these great structures were built 2000 years ago, are destroyed by apes who probably can’t put one block atop another.
What a dirty rotten bunch of fcukers.
Such desperate and stupid acts just like their barbaric Western backed pay masters and born losers that are polling the ropes.
This proves that ISIS does not belong to the human race.
If they possessed any intelligence whatsover they would realise that they are destroying history.
History of mankind.
May a higher order than that of religion be their judge and be condemned to extermination.
Islamic fundamentalists believe that any artefacts, buildings etc that pre-date Islam are utterly unimportant. Go figure.
Add this to Hitler burning books, Henry destroying monasteries etc. Destruction is never a benefit to anyone just a loss.
So as well as knocking Ireland out of the World Cup, Henry burns books!!. FFS
….and burns monasteries!!
Gillian, Henry didn’t destroy the monasteries he simply acquired them, he was interested in the land, not the buildings. Hampton Court is a former monastery and he actually lived in that. Henry was about money, not ideology.
The yanks aren’t gonna like Putin wiping out their little band of butchers . We can look forward to these toe rags wreaking havoc in Europe if our puppet governments have anything to do with it . It’s amazing how quickly the agenda can change and how quickly the public fall for the spin .
Putin’s doing very little against isis unfortunately. He’s far more concerned with protecting the coast and his only military base outside of Russia.
Tony Canning_Russia has every right to protect the very few military bases that it has outside its own country. It has also every right to protect its Syrian ally on request from Western Backed terrorists. The US and NATO have absolutely NO BUSINESS IN SYRIA and get that straight.
Russia leased the land at Tartas Syria for that base unlike the yanks that raid other nations and steal land and set up bases where ever they want.
All the U.S. bases in the world has left the U.S. vulnerable from mainland attack or from exposure to biological agents and using their army as carriers for these diseases, that is a thought?
I don’t understand how they haven’t been wiped out already, sitting ducks. An elite team of soldiers would have them gone within a week.
They don’t want them wiped out Stephen , they need them to destabilise the region and scare the rest of the world , they have a purpose .
Was thinking along those lines alright.
I see our so called allies the yanks have committed another war crime blowing up a hospital .
B@stards
Bomb them I say
So your answer to them blowing up the ancient city of Palmyra is to bomb them. Special bombs that don’t affect ancient buildings?
Could help them by blowing up that rock in mecca, that one causes trouble.
If this is not an appropriate situation for the use of Nukes, WTF are nukes for?
Nukes should exist solely for the purpose of making sure nobody uses nukes. That is their only legitimate purpose.
The nuclear pulse engine is a more legitimate purpose.
Red mercury nuke bombs, kills all life without destroying property…
All western forces should leave the middle east, hand back any assets taken over and stop interfering. These are the reasons the like of Isis and Al Quieda came to be. Remember the English occupation of Ireland was the reason for the creation of the Ira. People don’t like foreign occupation and rightly so
Islamica, f*** yeah
Ask them to sort the Spire out for us
Notice that the “defense industry” of Europe and the USA is worth tens of billions of dollars.
Notice how the military might of the USA and Germany is standing idly by.
The vast military power of the USA and Germany can swat the ISIS rabble in 24 hours.
America and Germany have millions of men under arms.
They should use that vast military power.
The Russians don’t apply the same ‘health and safety ‘ rules for terrorists that the Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg expect , hopefully they will do what Hussain Obama would not and blow the Shiite out of them
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3257260/They-cut-butcher-s-knife-Syrian-boy-14-describes-horrific-moment-ISIS-militant-dubbed-Bulldozer-hacked-HAND-FOOT-refused-join-terror-group.html
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3258899/Welcome-ISIS-fanatics-fairground-Brutal-jihadi-group-unveil-two-new-theme-parks-celebrate-Eid-Iraq-Syria.html
They are weird…
Why is Isil doing this and they do not even have 1 Koran between any of them, is that not a giveaway to who they really are?
fuping baxterds
fuping baxterds.
have your say