Islamic State destroys more ancient monuments in Palmyra

Islamic State militants have destroyed the facade of a centuries-old amphitheater and desecrated another Roman monument in the ancient Syrian town of Palmyra, state media reported Friday.

Maamoun Abdulkarim, the head of Syria’s antiquities department, told the Associated Press that the militants damaged the theater that dates from the second-century at the UNESCO world heritage site and also destroyed the Tetrapylon, a structure in the middle of the colonnade road that leads to the theater. Cubic-shaped Tetrapylons have four gateways and were usually erected on crossroads.

Abdulkarim told the AP that the damage was first reported in late December, but was confirmed by satellite images released by the Boston-based American Schools of Oriental Research late Thursday.

He said that just two of the of the Tetrapylon's 16 columns remain standing.

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SANA reported Thursday that extremists murdered 12 Palmyra residents the previous night, including four employees of the state and two teachers the militants kidnapped earlier.

The Islamic State, also known as ISIS and ISIL, recaptured Palmyra from government troops in December, nine months after being expelled by the Russian-backed Syrian army.

ISIL fighters have destroyed ancient monuments including the Temple of Bel, which dated to A.D. 32, the imposing Temple of Baalshamin, and the iconic 2,000 year-old Arch of Triumph. The militants perceive the structures as monuments to idolatry.

The extremist group has also made millions of dollars from the sale of antiquities looted in Syria and Iraq. It has taken over swaths of both countries.