Islamic State militants have not yet damaged the ruins in the ancient city of Palmyra in Syria, according to the country’s antiquities chief.
Maamoun Abdulkarim said there was “no damage so far,” after the Islamic State released a video allegedly showing the buildings intact. Saying he received his information from contacts in the city, Abdulkarim added that he still fears militants will destroy the 2,000-year-old site.
Observers fully expect the Islamic State to desecrate the site, as it has in Mosul, Nimrud and Hatra.
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Since taking Palmyra this month, along with the modern city of Tadmur, Islamic State supporters released a photo of militants raising their black flag over the city. While some artifacts were removed ahead of time, an activist told the Associated Press that fighters smashed a statue depicting residents of the ancient city.
A State Department spokeswoman has said the U.S. will “keep watching here, we’ll keep seeing what’s happening on the ground.”
