August 29, 2015
PALMYRA, SYRIA – Satellite images confirm the destruction of the Baal Shamin temple in Syria's Palmyra, the United Nations said on Friday, after international condemnation of the act claimed by the Islamic State group.
August 29, 2015
PALMYRA, SYRIA – Satellite images confirm the destruction of the Baal Shamin temple in Syria's Palmyra, the United Nations said on Friday, after international condemnation of the act claimed by the Islamic State group.
This undated photo released on August 25 shows smoke from the detonation of the 2,000-year-old temple of Baalshamin in Syria's ancient caravan city of Palmyra. (Islamic State social media account via AP)
The UN training and research agency UNITAR said its satellite programme had compared images of the site taken on June 26 and again on August 27.
"We confirm the destruction of the main building, while surrounding columns seem to be less affected," UNITAR said in a statement.
The grainy images show that the famed temple, considered the second-most significant in ancient Palmyra, "has been blown to bits," spokesperson Einar Bjorgo told AFP.
"It has been flattened," he said.
The destruction, which reportedly happened last Sunday, just days after IS fighters beheaded the 82-year-old retired chief archaeologist of Palmyra, sparked widespread outrage.
The UN has slammed the destruction of the temple as a "war crime", and the act has raised concerns for the rest of the UNESCO World Heritage site.
This undated photo release by IS shows militants laying explosives in the 2,000-year-old temple of Baalshamin, Palmyra. Unesco called the destruction of the temple a war crime. (Islamic State social media account via AP)
Famed for its well-preserved Greco-Roman ruins, Palmyra was seized from government forces in May, prompting concerns IS might destroy it as it has other heritage sites in parts of Syria and Iraq under its control.
IS published images earlier this week showing militants placing barrels and small containers, presumably containing explosives, into the temple, as well as similar containers placed on parts of its columns.
The images, which appeared to be screenshots from a video, also showed a large explosion apparently as the temple was blown up, and then a pile of rubble at its former location.
Palmyra temple: A handout image taken on August 27, 2015 and provided on August 28, 2015 by UNITAR-UNOSAT shows a close-up of a satellite-detected image of rubble and surrounding columns at the location of the Baal Shamin temple (C) in Syria’s ancient city of Palmyra.
Satellite images confirm the destruction of the Baal Shamin temple in Palmyra, the United Nations said, after international condemnation of the act claimed by the Islamic State group.
Courtesy: HT
