Beirut: : The Islamic State (IS) militant group has destroyed part of what's considered the most important temple at the ancient Syrian site of Palmyra, activists and witnesses say.
The extent of the damage to the 2,000-year-old Temple of Bel is not clear but local residents have described being shaken by a large explosion.
The world-famous Greco-Roman ruins are in the desert north-east of the Syrian capital, Damascus.
"It is total destruction,'' one Palmyra resident told a news agency. "The bricks and columns are on the ground."
"It was an explosion the deaf would hear," he went on, adding that only the wall of the temple remains.
The temple was dedicated to the Palmyrene gods and was one of the best preserved parts of the site.
It was several days after the initial reports of the destruction of another part of the site, the Temple of Baalshamin, that IS itself put out pictures showing its militants blowing up the temple.
Satellite images have confirmed the destruction.
The BBC reports from Beirut that for the extremists, any representation implying the existence of a god other than theirs is sacrilege and idolatry.
Earlier this month IS murdered the archaeologist who had looked after the Palmyra ruins for 40 years.
The family of 81-year-old Khaled al-Asaad told Syria's director of antiquities that he had been beheaded.
Unesco Director General Irina Bokova praised the archaeologist, saying IS "murdered a great man, but they will never silence history".
The extent of the damage to the 2,000-year-old Temple of Bel is not clear but local residents have described being shaken by a large explosion.
The world-famous Greco-Roman ruins are in the desert north-east of the Syrian capital, Damascus.
"It is total destruction,'' one Palmyra resident told a news agency. "The bricks and columns are on the ground."
"It was an explosion the deaf would hear," he went on, adding that only the wall of the temple remains.
The temple was dedicated to the Palmyrene gods and was one of the best preserved parts of the site.
It was several days after the initial reports of the destruction of another part of the site, the Temple of Baalshamin, that IS itself put out pictures showing its militants blowing up the temple.
Satellite images have confirmed the destruction.
The BBC reports from Beirut that for the extremists, any representation implying the existence of a god other than theirs is sacrilege and idolatry.
Earlier this month IS murdered the archaeologist who had looked after the Palmyra ruins for 40 years.
The family of 81-year-old Khaled al-Asaad told Syria's director of antiquities that he had been beheaded.
Unesco Director General Irina Bokova praised the archaeologist, saying IS "murdered a great man, but they will never silence history".
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