Fate of Syria’s famed temple unknown as blast at Palmyra is heard

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Sunday that ISIL fighters had set off explosives inside the 2,000-year-old Temple of Bel, at least partially destroying the centrepiece of Palmyra’s famed ruins.

A file photo of the Temple of Bel in the historical city of Palmyra, Syria. The hardline ISIL group has reportedly destroyed part of the ancient temple in Syria's Palmyra city, a group monitoring the Show more

BEIRUT // A powerful blast in the ruins of Syria’s ancient Palmyra raised fears on Monday that ISIL has damaged another of the Middle East’s most treasured heritage sites.

Both Syria’s antiquities chief and a monitor reported Sunday’s explosion in the Unesco World Heritage site, but there was conflicting information on the fate of its famed Temple of Bel.

ISIL destroyed the smaller Baal Shamin temple at Palmyra last week, confirming the worst fears about their intentions for the site, which they seized from Syrian regime forces in May.

The extremists have carried out a sustained campaign of destruction against heritage sites in areas under their control in Syria and Iraq, and in mid-August beheaded the 82-year-old former antiquities chief in Palmyra.

The group’s harsh interpretation of Islam considers statues and grave markers to be idolatrous, but it has also been accused of destroying heritage sites to loot items for the black market and to gain publicity.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor, said on Sunday that ISIL fighters had set off explosives inside the 2,000-year-old Temple of Bel, at least partially destroying the centrepiece of Palmyra’s famed ruins.

Mohammad Hassan Al Homsi, an activist from Palmyra, said the inner part of the temple was destroyed in the blast.

They detonated “boxes and barrels” that were filled with explosives and put in place on Sunday, he said.

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

But Syria’s antiquities chief Maamoun Abdulkarim said the explosion did not appear to have damaged the temple significantly.

“The frontal columns and the cella [interior] of the temple do not appear to have been damaged,” Mr Abdulkarim said on Monday.

“According to the information we received from the town, the temple is still standing, but antiquities staff are not able to enter the site to see close up,” he said.

France condemned the attack.

“With this attack against a Unesco-recognised archeological jewel ... Daesh is persisting in its criminal determination to wipe out the cultural diversity in the Middle East,” said foreign ministry spokesman Romain Nadal.

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

The reports come a week after ISIL blew up the Baal Shamin temple, an act the UN’s cultural agency Unesco called a “war crime”.

ISIL 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 – lies 210 kilometres northeast of Damascus.

Before the Syrian conflict erupted 2011, more than 150,000 tourists visited Palmyra every year.

* Agence France-Presse