ISIS blows up 2,000-year-old arch in Syrian city of Palmyra

In August, extremists blew up temple of Baal Shamin and the Temple of Bel, one of the best preserved sites

The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has blown up a nearly 2,000-year-old arch in the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra.

According to Sky News, ISIS militants destroyed the arch, but left the colonnades in place, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.



Syria's antiquities chief Maamoun Abdulkarim said that if the city of Palmyra remained in the hands of ISIS, then the city was doomed.

In August, the extremists blew up the temple of Baal Shamin and the Temple of Bel, one of the best preserved sites.

The group considers the buildings sacrilegious.

The Arch of Triumph was considered one of the jewels in the collection of ruins at the Roman-era site in Syria.