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Militants seize, destroy six archaeological busts

The militant group announced it had destroyed six archaeological pieces confiscated from a smuggler after a hearing by an Islamic court.

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Jihadists recently destroyed a lion statue dating back to 2nd century in Palmyra.

He said the statue, discovered in 1977, had stood at the gate of the town’s museum, and had been placed inside a metal box to protect it from damage.

Palmyra, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and once part of “a historical trade route”, has been under ISIS control since May.

In May, as Islamic State fighters encircled Palmyra in central Syria, antiquities officials there rushed to move or hide numerous city’s treasures. Most of the pieces in the city’s museum were evacuated by antiquities staff before IS arrived, though the group has blown up several historic Muslim graves in recent weeks.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights on Saturday said the execution took place at the ancient Romanian Theatre in the millennia-old oasis city of Palmyra, which was overrun by the IS militants last May.

The statement included photos showing several carved busts being destroyed with sledgehammers.

According to a statement from the group and Syrian state media, ISIS allegedly destroyed the Allat God statue, a significant ancient object depicting a lion catching a deer between its feet.

Yesterday, however, Isis posted photos of a civilian being forced to destroy what appeared to be priceless statues plucked from Palmyra’s undulating ruins.

Archaeologists monitoring developments in Isis-held areas said they began to see evidence of pillage on a level unseen throughout the three destructive years of Syria’s civil war.

Islamic State is known for executing victims in orange jumpsuits, like Jordanian pilot Muath Kasasbeh or 21 Egyptian Christians.

On Wednesday, UNESCO officials once again accused IS of “cultural cleansing”.

“These new destructions of cultural goods of the site of Palmyra reflect the brutality and ignorance of extremist groups and their disregard of local communities and of the Syrian people”, said Irina Bokova, Unesco director-general. “This strategy seeks to destroy identities by eliminating heritage and cultural markers”.

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Some 25 government soldiers were reportedly killed – shot by teenage militants – shortly after the militant group seized control of the ancient city on May 21.

Purported smuggled archaeological pieces Palmyra