Satellite images confirm major temple destroyed in Syria's Palmyra - U.N.

(Wolfgang Kaehler/LightRocket via Getty Images)

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Satellite images have confirmed the destruction of the Temple of Bel, which was one of the best preserved Roman-era sites in the Syrian city of Palmyra, a United Nations agency said, after activists said the hardline Islamic State group had targeted it.

A comparison of before and after images shows the damage to the temple at the UNESCO World Heritage site, the Geneva-based United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) said.

"We can confirm the destruction of the main building of the Temple of Bel as well as a row of columns in its immediate vicinity," the agency said in an email.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group and other activists said on Sunday that Islamic State had destroyed part of the more than 2,000-year-old temple, one of Palmyra's most important monuments.


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(Reporting by Sylvia Westall; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky/Hugh Lawson)