Islamic State militants have destroyed the Arch of Triumph in the ancient city of Palmyra, a monument that dates back to the Roman empire, Syria’s chief of antiquities told the Guardian.
Maamoun Abdulkarim said sources in the city, which was conquered by Isis after a week-long siege in May, had informed him the arch was destroyed on Sunday in the latest act of vandalism against Syria’s cultural heritage perpetrated by Isis.
“It’s a crime in every sense of the word,” he said in a telephone interview from Damascus. “All we can do is share the sadness.”
The arch was built in commemoration of a visit by the emperor and his entourage when Palmyra was a Roman colony. Isis’s puritanical interpretation of Islam deems the preservation of ancient artefacts and monuments to be a form of idolatry. (+ video) » | Kareem Shaheen in Beirut | Monday, October 5, 2015
