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		</div><p>Islamic State militants have destroyed a landmark ancient Roman monument and parts of the theatre in Syria&#8217;s historic town of Palmyra, the government and opposition monitoring groups said.</p>
<p>Maamoun Abdulkarim, the head of Syria&#8217;s antiquities department, said the militants destroyed the facade of the second-century theatre along with the Tetrapylon, a cubic-shaped Roman monument in the middle of the colonnade road that leads to the theatre.</p>
<p>Mr Abdulkarim said reports of the destruction first trickled out of the IS-held town late in December, but satellite images of the damage were only available late on Thursday, confirming the destruction.</p>
<p>The imagery, provided by the US-based American Schools of Oriental Research, show significant damage to the Tetrapylon and the theatre. The ASOR said the damage was probably caused by intentional destruction by IS.</p>
<p>Mr Abdulkarim said only two of the 16 columns of the Tetrapylon remain standing. The stage backdrop has sustained damage, according to ASOR.</p>
<p>State-run news agency Sana reported the damage and Syrian opposition monitors confirmed it but gave no immediate details.</p>
<p>The extremists recaptured the ancient town in December from government troops &#8211; nine months after IS was expelled in a Russia-backed offensive.</p>
<p>During their first stay, from May 2015 until May 2016, IS destroyed ancient temples including the Temple of Bel, which dated back to AD 32, and the Temple of Baalshamin, a structure of stone blocks several storeys high fronted by six towering columns.</p>
<p>The militants also blew up the Arch of Triumph, which was built under Roman emperor Septimius Severus between AD 193 and AD 211.</p>
<p>A Unesco world heritage site, Palmyra boasts 2,000-year-old towering Roman-era colonnades and priceless artefacts. Syrians affectionately refer to it as the &#8220;Bride of the Desert&#8221;.</p>
<p>The extremists have destroyed ancient sites across their self-styled Islamic caliphate in Syria and Iraq, viewing them as monuments to idolatry.</p>
<p>A desert oasis surrounded by palm trees in central Syria, Palmyra is also a strategic crossroads linking the Syrian capital, Damascus, with the country&#8217;s east and neighbouring Iraq.</p>
<p>Located 155 miles east of Damascus, the city was once home to 65,000 people before the Syrian civil war began.</p>
<p>Most Palmyra residents did not return after it was retaken by the government, and activists estimated the city is now home to a few hundred families.</p>
<p>Many of them tried to flee as IS recaptured the city in December.</p>
<p>On Thursday, reports emerged that the militant group killed 12 captives it held in Palmyra, some of them beheaded in the Roman theatre.</p>
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