ISIS terrorists beheaded a renowned Syrian archaeologist in Palmyra after he refused to turn over valuable artifacts to the Islamic State.
Khaled al-Asaad, an archaeologist who looked after Palmyra for 40 years is reported to have been killed by IS: http://t.co/f0E3fulH4V
— World Archaeology (@WorldArchaeo) August 19, 2015
The Islamists beheaded 82 year-old Khaled al-Asaad and tied his body to a light pole.
The Guardian reported, via Religion of Peace:
Islamic State militants beheaded a renowned antiquities scholar in the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra and hung his mutilated body on a column in a main square of the historic site because he apparently refused to reveal to his Isis captors where valuable artefacts had been removed for safekeeping.
The brutal murder of Khaled al-Asaad, 82, is the latest atrocity perpetrated by the extremist jihadi group, which has captured a third of both Syria and neighbouring Iraq and declared a self-styled “caliphate” on the territory it controls. It has also highlighted Isis’s habit of looting and selling antiquities to fund its activities – as well as destroying them.
Syrian state antiquities chief Maamoun Abdulkarim said that Asaad’s family had informed him that the scholar, who worked for over 50 years as head of antiquities in Palmyra, was killed by Isis on Tuesday.
Former Director of #Palmyra Museums & Monuments Khaled Al Asaad (81) was beheaded by #ISIS in #Palmyra Monday. pic.twitter.com/SLMYoaebB3
— Zaid Benjamin (@zaidbenjamin) August 19, 2015
