REUTERS
(REUTERS) Islamic State has planted mines and bombs in the ancient part of the central Syrian city of Palmyra, a group monitoring the war said on Sunday (June 21).
Video released by the group in May appeared to show the ancient Roman-era ruins in Palmyra still intact, despite fears that it would be destroyed after the Sunni militant group seized the city from government control.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said it was not immediately clear whether the group was preparing to destroy the ancient ruins or planted the mines to deter government forces from advancing towards the city, also known as Tadmur.
The monitoring group told Reuters that the mines and bombs were planted on Saturday (June 20), including around the Roman theatre.
The ultra-hardline Sunni Muslim group in May seized the city of 50,000 people and the UNESCO World Heritage site containing some of the world’s most extensive and best-preserved ancient Roman ruins.
Islamic State has proclaimed a caliphate to rule over all Muslims from territory it holds in both Syria and Iraq.
Its militants have a history of carrying out mass killings in towns and cities they capture and of destroying ancient monuments – which they consider symbols of paganism.
