Daesh destroys tower tombs in Syria's Palmyra

Three of the tower tombs that stood outside the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra for almost 2,000 years have been destroyed by Islamic State (also known as Daesh) militants, the country's director of antiquities said on Friday.

The tombs destroyed by the militants "were the best preserved and most beautiful," Mamoun Abdulkareem told dpa.

The towers were demolished about 10 days ago, before the militants on Sunday blew up the city's main temple, devoted to the Semitic god Bel, Abdulkareem said.

The destroyed monuments included the Tower of Elahbel, built in 103 AD. Standing five storeys high, its upper floors were lined with burial niches. The ceilings were decorated with portraits in bas relief.

The Tower of Jamblique, built in 83 AD, was also amongst those destroyed.

Satellite imagery released by the American Schools of Oriental Research Syrian Heritage Initiative showed a total of seven towers had been damaged, most of them reduced to rubble.

A number of other towers still appeared intact as of the latest satellite pictures, dating to Wednesday.

Islamic State, which has previously destroyed ancient monuments in neighbouring Iraq as well as Christian and Islamic sites in both countries, captured Palmyra from government forces in May.

Last month its fighters beheaded Khaled al-Asaad, who had served as the city's chief archaeologist for some 40 years, and hung his body from a lamp post.