ISIS destroys portions of Roman amphitheatre in the ancient city of Palmyra

ISIS militants have destroyed part of the Roman amphitheatre in the ancient city of Palmyra. As indicated by Syria's antiquities chief, the tetrapylon - a group of four pillared structures which were mainly modern replicas - have also been ruined.
The jihadists had recaptured the UNESCO-listed archaeological site in December from government troops and had destroyed other monuments after it first seized Palmyra in May 2015. ISIS had held the site and nearby city known locally as Tadmur for 10 months.
This has been reported in bbc.com dated 20 January 2017.

ISIS had been forced out by a Russian-backed government offensive in March 2016, but they regained control when the pro-government forces where focused on battling for the city of Aleppo late last year. Reports of the destruction had initially come out of Palmyra late in December, and subsequently, satellite images have confirmed the destruction.
It seems only two of the tetrapylon's columns remain, and from all appearances, the monument has been intentionally destroyed by the use of explosives. Only one of the structure's columns is original, the others had been rebuilt in 1963.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

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Mass grave with 40 bodies discovered in Palmyra - 23 of them were women and children

Syrian forces have retaken Palmyra, located 155 miles east of Damascus, from the ISIS who had occupied it over 10 months earlier and Syrian engineering teams and popular defense groups have discovered a mass grave of 40 people in a neighborhood in the newly recaptured ancient city of Palmyra.
This has been reported in foxnews.com dated 3 April 2016.

The mass grave contains remains of about 40 people, 23 of them women and children - some of the bodies were beheaded and bore signs of torture. SANA news agency have indicated that they were killed by Islamic State militants. After tasking over the town, Syrian army experts have detonated hundreds of mines that were planted by the Islamic State before they were forced out of Palmyra.
Palmyra is a UNESCO Heritage site and an archaeological gem that had attracted tens of thousands of tourists every year before the Islamic State captured the city and destroyed most of its Christian artifacts. Some parts of the site, including the Roman-era grand colonnades and amphitheater appear to have been spared but the damage every else was very much visible.
Syrian officers have dismantled more than 3,000 mines so far and have also reported that there are booby traps everywhere - trees, doors, and even animals. Russian sappers have arrived in Syria to help the Syrian army clear mines in and around the town.


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ISIS driven out from Palmyra by Syrian forces backed by Russian airstrikes

Palmyra is finally freed from the clutches of ISIS by Syrian forces backed by Russian airstrikes - this has been announced by the state media and an opposition monitoring group. Government forces had been on the offensive for nearly three weeks trying to recapture the town that had been captured by ISIS in May and this recapturing brings to an end the reign of terror over a town whose famous 2,000-year-old ruins used to once attract tens of thousands of visitors.
Palmyra used to be affectionately known as the "Bride of the Desert" and was a UNESCO world heritage site.
This has been reported in foxnews.com dated 27 March 2016.

The retaking of Palmyra by Syrian forces marks the latest setback suffered by ISIS - it is coming under mounting pressure on several fronts in Iraq and Syria. Syrian troops are now dismantling explosive booby traps that had been planted by ISIS militants.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has confirmed that the Islamic State lost the town and have added that at least 400 extremists have been killed. Some fighters had withdrawn from Palmyra and moved out toward the town of Sukhna and other areas in the Homs province. SOHM has added that this was the heaviest losses sustained by ISIS in a single battle since its creation.
Russia's defense minister has indicated that Russian jets conducted 40 air sorties near Palmyra and hit 158 targets killing over 100 militants.


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Syrian forces have entered Palmyra held by ISIS for last one year

ISIS has held the city of Palmyra ever since May last year and the Syrian government forces have now entered the city. IS had demolished several historic landmarks and ancient structures and had also carried out a series of beheading in the iconic amphitheater.
This has been reported in news.sky.com dated 24 March 2016.

In advance of the latest assault, IS has apparently used loudspeakers to announce to the 15,000 odd civilians still living in Palmyra to leave the city. The fighting is reportedly concentrated near the archaeological site on the southwestern edge of the town and, the Syrian forces are less than a mile from the heart of the city, and roads are being cleared of mines and explosives.
Simultaneously, in Iraq, armed forces are bearing down on the IS-held city of Mosul and it is the first stage of an operation aimed at liberating Mosul - it took off with an offensive against IS in the northerly Nineveh province launched from the Makhmour area where Iraqi troops have been deployed in recent weeks.
The troops are backed by air power from a US-led coalition and Kurdish peshmerga forces and several villages have already been recaptured. Mosul was home to two million people before it was taken over by IS. Mosul is, now, the largest city controlled by the group and is still heavily populated - this makes it more complicated to retake.


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This has been reported in news.fox.com dated 19 September 2015.

The build-up has coincided with Syrian government planes launching a second round of airstrikes against Islamic State positions in Palmyra and killing at least 26 people.
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IS militants in destruction mode – blows up ancient Baal Shamin temple in Palmyra

#BaalShamin #Palmyra #ISIS #Syria #KhaledAsaad The Islamic State militants are in a destruction mode and have, now, destroyed the Baal Shamin temple located in Syria's ancient city of Palmyra. Large amount of explosives were used to blow up this Roman-era temple that was built in the 1st Century. It is dedicated to the Phoenician god of storms and fertilizing rains.
This has been reported in news.sky.com dated 24 August 2015.

The country's antiquities chief Maamoun Abdul Karim has revealed that the next phase of the IS would be that of terrorizing people and, destroying temples and important landmarks and edifices.
Baal Shamin is situated about 550 meters from Palmyra's famous amphitheater where IS fighters had killed more than 20 Syrian soldiers after capturing the historic town in May. And, last week, they beheaded Khaled Asaad, an 82-year-old antiquities scholar who worked for over 50 years in Palmyra. He was beheaded after he had been interrogated for over a month. Later, his body was hung from one of the town's Roman columns. This is as reported by state media agency SANA as well as the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
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ISIS child executioners shoot and kill 25 Syrian soldiers in Palmyra ruins in public

#ISIS #Syria #Palmyra #RomanAmphitheatre ISIS has groomed child executioners to kill people and have released a new execution video from the historic city of Palmyra, in the Syrian Desert. In the video, the child executioners are shown brutally slaughtering a group of more than 25 regime soldiers in full view of the public. They comprise a baying crowd of men and boys who had assembled in the restored ruin of the Palmyra Amphitheatre. Many in the crowd are seen wearing military uniforms and headscarves.
This has been reported in dailymail.co.uk dated 4 July 2015.

In the video, the victims who are Syrian soldiers, can be seen lined up on their knees on the stage of the Roman Amphitheatre. This venue used to be where an annual festival in the city would be held.
The child executioners are wearing desert camouflage and brown bandanas, and many of them look to be not older than 12 or 13 years in age. These children are branded as ‘caliphate cubs’ and act as suicide bombers, soldiers and executioners. Their mission is to instill fear across Iraq and Syria.
Authorities fear that the use of children as soldiers and suicide bombers will only increase in the coming months.
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ISIS lays mines at ancient historical site of Palmyra

#ISIS #Palmyra #SOHR #UNESCOHeritage The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has indicated that the ISIS militants is on a destruction spree and has laid explosives and land mines at the ruins of Palmyra in Syria. This has raised apprehensions that they would destroy the ancient heritage site and thousands of years of history would be lost forever.
This has been reported in foxnews.com dated 22 June 2015.

Palmyra had been overrun by ISIS fighters last month and there are genuine fears that they would try to destroy the city as they have already done with other heritage sites and smashed ancient artifacts in the museums of Iraq and Syria.
Palmyra is a UNESCO World Heritage site and thousands of visitors flock there to see for themselves the intricate works of art and architecture. That was before the start of Syria's bloody civil war.
Palmyra is renowned for its well-preserved statues, tombs, and columns, and was an active archeological site before the war. It is believed that the ISIS takes away many priceless items to finance their vicious activities of destruction and murders.
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Ancient 2000-year-old city of Palmyra in Syria targeted for destruction by ISIS

#ISIS #Palmyra #Syria #WorldHeritage #UNESCO Islamic State terrorists have reportedly moved towards the gates of ancient 2000-year-old city of Palmyra and are believed to have targeted it for destruction. There are fears that this Syrian world heritage site could be in for destruction as the jihadists have already done in Iraq. This has been reported in dailymail.co.uk dated 15 May 2015.

As the ISIS militants overran nearby villages, they executed 26 civilians - 10 of them were beheaded because they were 'collaborating with the regime.' This is what the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) have said.
Irina Bokova, head of the UN's cultural body UNESCO, has requested both the Syrian troops and the extremists to spare Palmyra because it 'represents an irreplaceable treasure for the Syrian people, and the world. … Palmyra must be saved.' She made these comments at a two-day conference in Cairo on protecting the region's archeological sites.
Her request was echoed by Syria's head of antiquities who made an appeal for international action saying IS was less than two kilometers from what remained of one of the most important cultural centers of the ancient world.
Incidentally, UNESCO has described Palmyra as a world heritage site of 'outstanding universal value'. This ancient city was on a caravan route at the crossroads of several civilizations and its temples that are of 1st and 2nd century apart from the colonnaded streets mark a unique blend of Graeco-Roman and Persian influences. (Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

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