Palmyra's Temple of Bel totally destroyed

The United Nations training and research agency UNITAR said late Monday that the temple's destruction on Sunday by the self-styled "Islamic State" (IS) rendered the 2,000-year-old site a total loss.

"We can confirm destruction of the main building of the Temple of Bel as well as a row of columns in its immediate vicinity," UNITAR said, providing satellite images after a powerful blast in the ruins of the ancient city.

An image taken on August 27 showed a rectangular structure surrounded by columns. A shot taken on Monday indicated there was little left apart from a few columns on the very outer edges of the site.

For IS - which captured the UNESCO World Heritage Site in May - any pagan artifacts are an affront to its interpretation of Islam and must be destroyed. The group had already destroyed the smaller Baal Shamin temple at Palmyra last week.

UNESCO has called the destruction a war crime.

Construction on the Temple of Bel began in 32 BC and ended in the second century. It later served as both a church and a mosque and was regarded by historians as the most important temple in the Middle East, alongside Baalbek in Lebanon.

Known as the "Pearl of the Desert," Palmyra, which means City of Palms, lies 210 kilometers (130 miles) northeast of Damascus.

Prior to the start of the Syrian civil war in 2011, more than 150,000 tourists visited Palmyra annually. IS occupied the city in May.

jar/jm (AP, AFP)