DAMASCUS — Daesh (the so-called IS) militants beheaded one of Syria's most prominent antiquities scholars in the ancient town of Palmyra, then hung his body from one of the town's Roman columns, Syrian state media and an activist group said Wednesday. The killing of 81-year-old Khaled Al-Asaad was the latest atrocity perpetrated 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 Daesh overran Palmyra in May, there have been fears the extremists, who have destroyed famed 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 extremist group, which has imposed a violent interpretation of Islamic law, or Shariah, believes ancient relics promote idolatry. Daesh militants claim they are destroying ancient artifacts and archaeological treasures as part of their purge of paganism. The destruction Daesh 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 Daesh 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. Daesh 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. 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. — AP
