Islamic State of Iraq (ISIS) militants and severely damaged a 2000-year-old temple in the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra, activists said.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which relies on a network of informants inside the war-torn country, said the Bel Temple had been damaged, but did not provide further details.
A Palmyra resident told the Associated Press that ISIS militants set off a huge blast at 1:45 p.m. local time Sunday.
“It is total destruction,” he said of the scene of the explosion. “The bricks and columns are on the ground.”
“It was an explosion the deaf would hear,” he added. Al-Thaer said only the outer wall surrounding the temple remains.
