The Islamic State group overran Palmyra in May, forcing government troops out. The group had already destroyed two temples in Palmyra, a city that once helped connect Rome to Mesopotamia and the East. The government’s head of the Antiquities and Museums Department Maamoun Abdul-Karim called for taking back the city, “quickly”. It stood near the end of the column-lined main street, marking the final approach to the Temple of Bel, which was itself blown up by the militants in August. It sits atop the colonnaded street that runs across Palmyra.
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The arch, dating from between AD193 and 211, was built to honour Emperor Septimus Severus’s victory over the Parthians.
Meanwhile, in the disputed city of Aleppo bombers pounded the towns of Al-Bab and Deir Hafer, around 10 miles east of a key military airport now held by Assad’s forces but under siege from ISIS fighters.
The iconic Arch of Triumph is the latest victim in the terror group’s campaign of destruction at the Unesco World Heritage site, which it captured in May.
He said IS might have destroyed the celebrated arch as an attempt to recapture worldwide attention after the Russian air strikes. “If the city remains in their hands the city is doomed”, Abdulkarim told Reuters.
The Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, said violent extremists will never be able to erase history, nor silence the memory of Palmyra.
Known as the “Pearl of the Desert”, the ancient oasis town of Palmyra situated about 210 kilometers northeast of Damascus became famous as a stopping point for caravans traveling on the Silk Road. It considers such relics to be promoting idolatry.
“It’s a fairly low-risk, cheap way for IS to really maximize its worldwide infamy”, said Charlie Winter, analyst at the London-based Quilliam Foundation.
Palmyra fell to IS in May, but the Syrian army has advanced towards the city from the west and there are fears IS may now speed up its razing of the ancient site.
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The city has also come under intense government bombings in recent days, forcing thousands to flee.
