IS Destroys Palmyra Antiques

Lesson Brief BBC Arabic
On July 3, BBC Arabic reported that IS has taken to destroying statues and other antiques in the world heritage cultural city of Palmyra, Syria, known locally as Tadmur. The terrorist organization released a video of its members swinging down sledge hammers on top of the priceless artifacts, including a 2000-year-old statue of a lion. The news comes as reports have picked up in recent days of antiquities from Iraq and Syria, likely smuggled out and sold by IS, finding their way into the hands of UK amateur antique collectors. The destroyed statues had been in the possession of a local, who was lashed as a punishment. IS has claimed it would not destroy the ancient city itself, rather just the "idols" it finds in the city. The attached video was published in April and reports on IS destroying historical artifacts in Iraq. The short video uses similar vocabulary to this set and reports on the heinous crimes carried out by IS throughout the region.
Al Jazeera Arabic

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