ISIS Behead Palmyra Archaeologist Khaled al-Assad And Hang His Body From Ruins

[Martinus]

ISIS Behead Palmyra Archaeologist Khaled al-Assad And Hang His Body From Ancient Ruins

Islamic State (IS) militants have executed the archaeologist who looked after the ancient ruins of Palmyra and hung his body from them.

Khaled al-Assad's death was announced by Syrian state media and an activist group on Wednesday.

The 81-year-old was beheaded by the militant group, which has captured a third of both Syria and neighboring Iraq and declared a self-styled "caliphate" on the territory it controls.

Since IS overran Palmyra in May, there have been fears the extremists, who have destroyed famed archaeological sites in Iraq, would demolish the 2,000-year-old Roman-era city at the edge of the town - a UNESCO world heritage site and one of the Mideast's most spectacular archaeological sites.

The Sunni extremist group, which has imposed a violent interpretation of Islamic law, or Shariah, believes ancient relics promote idolatry.

IS militants claim they are destroying ancient artifacts and archaeological treasures as part of their purge of paganism.

The destruction IS has wreaked adds to the wider, extensive damage it has inflicted on ancient sites, including mosques and churches across Syria and Iraq.

According to Syrian state news agency SANA and the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, al-Assad was beheaded on Tuesday in a square outside the town's museum.

The Observatory, which has a network of activists on the ground in Syria, said dozens of people gathered to witness the killing. Al-Asaad had been held by the IS for about a month, it added.

His body was then taken to Palmyra's archaeological site and hung from one of the Roman columns, Maamoun Abdulkarim, the head of the Antiquities and Museums Department in Damascus, told SANA.

Al-Asaad was "one of the most important pioneers in Syrian archaeology in the 20th century," Abdulkarim said. IS had tried to extract information from him about where some of the town's treasures had been hidden to save them from the militants, the antiquities chief also said.

SANA said al-Asaad had been in charge of Palmyra's archaeological site for four decades until 2003, when he retired. After retiring, al-Asaad worked as an expert with the Antiquities and Museums Department.

Al-Asaad, who held a diploma in history and education from the University of Damascus, wrote many books and scientific texts either individually or in cooperation with other Syrian or foreign archeologists, SANA said. Among his titles are "The Palmyra sculptures," and "Zenobia, the Queen of Palmyra and the Orient."

He also discovered several ancient cemeteries, caves and the Byzantine cemetery in the garden of the Museum of Palmyra, the agency added.

"Al-Asaad was a treasure for Syria and the world," Khalil Hariri from Palmyra's archaeological department told The Associated Press, speaking over the phone from the central Syrian city of Homs. "Why did they kill him?"

"Their systematic campaign seeks to take us back into pre-history," he added. "But they will not succeed."

Since falling to IS, Palmyra's ancient site has remained intact but the militants destroyed a lion statue in the town dating back to the 2nd century. The statue, discovered in 1975, had stood at the gates of the town museum, and had been placed inside a metal box to protect it from damage.

In early July, IS released a video showing the killing of some 20 captured government soldiers in Palmyra's amphitheater. They were shot dead by young IS members, armed with pistols. Hundreds of people were seen watching the killings.

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2015/08/19/isis-behead-syrian-archaeologist-palmyra-hang-body-ancient-ruins_n_8008058.html

Somehow, this crime seems to be among the most heinous ones they have perpetrated. I can't think of a worse crime than destroying memory. These are rabid dogs.

[derspiess]

Sad.  A local museum had a Palmyra exhibit a few years ago and it was pretty impressive.

[Warspite]

It's funny how the Internet pays so much attention to Syrians being killed in one of the most destructive civil wars of the century, but doesn't give two shits about lions being killed in Africa. 

[Valmy]

It's funny how the Internet pays so much attention to Syrians being killed in one of the most destructive civil wars of the century, but doesn't give two shits about lions being killed in Africa. 

[Norgy]

This is an actual outrage.
How hard could it be to bomb the ISIS/ISIL/IS or whatever they want to be called out of existence?

I remember us debating the Iraq invasion a LOT, in fact, it's why we ended up here. After some persuasion about how neo-conservatism would work and the Middle East would become a beacon of FREEDOM AND DEMOCRACY!!!1111 I succumbed to supporting the war. Which was terribly, terribly wrong.
We made this. It's up to us to clean it up. Kill them all, if need be.

[Valmy]

ISIS has gone beyond some kind of moral event horizon here. Once you commit mass murder and establish sex slavery it is hard to really shock anybody anymore.

[KRonn]

It's funny how the Internet pays so much attention to Syrians being killed in one of the most destructive civil wars of the century, but doesn't give two shits about lions being killed in Africa. 

So true....   

[Monoriu]

This is an actual outrage.
How hard could it be to bomb the ISIS/ISIL/IS or whatever they want to be called out of existence?

I remember us debating the Iraq invasion a LOT, in fact, it's why we ended up here. After some persuasion about how neo-conservatism would work and the Middle East would become a beacon of FREEDOM AND DEMOCRACY!!!1111 I succumbed to supporting the war. Which was terribly, terribly wrong.
We made this. It's up to us to clean it up. Kill them all, if need be.

I thought it is now well-established that air strikes alone aren't very effective?

[The Brain]

This is an actual outrage.
How hard could it be to bomb the ISIS/ISIL/IS or whatever they want to be called out of existence?

I remember us debating the Iraq invasion a LOT, in fact, it's why we ended up here. After some persuasion about how neo-conservatism would work and the Middle East would become a beacon of FREEDOM AND DEMOCRACY!!!1111 I succumbed to supporting the war. Which was terribly, terribly wrong.
We made this. It's up to us to clean it up. Kill them all, if need be.

I thought it is now well-established that air strikes alone aren't very effective?

That was Swiss cheese.

[Valmy]

This is an actual outrage.
How hard could it be to bomb the ISIS/ISIL/IS or whatever they want to be called out of existence?

I remember us debating the Iraq invasion a LOT, in fact, it's why we ended up here. After some persuasion about how neo-conservatism would work and the Middle East would become a beacon of FREEDOM AND DEMOCRACY!!!1111 I succumbed to supporting the war. Which was terribly, terribly wrong.
We made this. It's up to us to clean it up. Kill them all, if need be.

If the problem was created by us launching military action against Iraq I have my doubts more military action is the solution. It just reconfirms my bias that we are too stupid and incompetent to solve the world's problems.

[Norgy]

This is an actual outrage.
How hard could it be to bomb the ISIS/ISIL/IS or whatever they want to be called out of existence?

I remember us debating the Iraq invasion a LOT, in fact, it's why we ended up here. After some persuasion about how neo-conservatism would work and the Middle East would become a beacon of FREEDOM AND DEMOCRACY!!!1111 I succumbed to supporting the war. Which was terribly, terribly wrong.
We made this. It's up to us to clean it up. Kill them all, if need be.

If the problem was created by us launching military action against Iraq I have my doubts more military action is the solution. It just reconfirms my bias that we are too stupid and incompetent to solve the world's problems.

Apparently, most of the world is incompetent in solving world problems. I think the last time we were somehow on track was 1945.
It seems like the IS/ISIL/ISIS/FUCKNUTS hate being called DAESH, though. So we could start with that?

There is no moral fibre left in people selling 9 year old girls into slavery. These people are no different from Einsatz-gruppen.
I tend to shy away from the most unapologetic Islam-bashing here, but these people deserve to be called what they are. Pissflaps, cunts, shits, evil bastards.
A friend of mine recently said "If I weren't an old bastard and had two daughters, I'd volunteer for the Peshmerga. We need to kill these people."

And I agree. While I would gladly join the fighters, I doubt they would take overweight, alcoholic unfit idiots like me, though.

[The Brain]

Try it and see if they take you. I'm sure you have skills they need even if you're not super fit.

[Caliga]

If the problem was created by us launching military action against Iraq I have my doubts more military action is the solution. It just reconfirms my bias that we are too stupid and incompetent to solve the world's problems.

It's not that, it's just that we lack the ruthlessness to truly solve it.

We need to give control of the Middle East back to the Turks.  They'll take care of the problem.

[Tamas]

If the problem was created by us launching military action against Iraq I have my doubts more military action is the solution. It just reconfirms my bias that we are too stupid and incompetent to solve the world's problems.

It's not that, it's just that we lack the ruthlessness to truly solve it.

We need to give control of the Middle East back to the Turks.  They'll take care of the problem.

Well yeah what Norgy says has merit: the last time the West effectively got rid of militant extremist human scum was when they were willing to carpet-bomb and burn tens, or even hundreds of thousands of perfectly innocent people with them.

No real stomach for that now.

[frunk]

It's not that, it's just that we lack the ruthlessness to truly solve it.

We need to give control of the Middle East back to the Turks.  They'll take care of the problem.

I'm assume you mean some historical version of the Turks that no longer exist.  The current Turks would rather fight Assad and the Kurds than ISIS.