IS destroys part of famed Palmyra temple

BEIRUT (AFP) - The Islamic State jihadist group has blown up parts of the Temple of Bel in Syria’s ancient city of Palmyra, a monitor and activists said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said late Sunday that the jihadist group had placed explosives inside the famed temple, at least partially destroying the building considered Palmyra’s most significant.

Mohamed Hassan al-Homsi, an activist from Palmyra, also reported the partial destruction on Sunday night, a week after IS destroyed the Baal Shamin temple at the historic Greco-Roman site.

“They laid the explosives today, using booby-trapped boxes and barrels that were already prepared by IS,’’ he said.

“This was the most important temple for tourists and for the people of Palmyra. They used to hold festivals there.’’

Homsi, who goes by a pseudonym, said the inner part of the temple was destroyed in the blast.

Syria’s antiquities chief Maamoun Abdelkarim, reached by phone in Damascus, said he could not confirm the destruction

“Rumours about these ruins are always coming out so we have to be careful about news like this,’’ he said.

There were also no immediate images released by IS of the reported destruction.

The reports come a week after IS blew up the smaller Baal Shamin temple in the UNESCO-listed Palmyra ruins.

That destruction was first reported by activists and Abdelkarim, and later confirmed in images released by IS online.

IS, which controls swathes of Syria and neighboring Iraq, captured Palmyra on May 21, sparking international concern about the fate of the heritage site described by UNESCO as of ‘’outstanding universal value’’.

Known as the ‘’Pearl of the desert’’, Palmyra, which means City of Palms, is a well-preserved oasis 210 kilometers (130 miles) northeast of Damascus.