Antiquities official fears for Palmyra after IS recaptures city

Syria’s official for antiquities and museums says his department had emptied the contents of Palmyra’s museum, but he fears for the ruins of the ancient city after Islamic State fighters re-occupied it.

Maamoun Abdulkarim tells The Associated Press that after the government captured the ancient city from the militants in March following a 10-month occupation, the museum’s exhibits were all transferred to the capital.

He says the militants had damaged the buildings, severed the heads of a number of statues, and dynamited and partially damaged two of the city’s temples and famous arc. But Abdulkarim says 80 percent of the city’s ruins were intact.

Abdulkarim says he believed that the extremist group is much weaker now than the first time they captured Palmyra. But he warns, “I fear they will be more vengeful.”

— Agencies