The Islamic State group has beheaded the 82-year-old former antiquities director for the ancient city of Palmyra, Syria’s antiquities chief and a monitor said.
Photos purporting to show Khaled al-Assaad’s body tied to a post in Palmyra were circulated online by IS supporters.
Syria’s antiquities chief Maamoun <g data-gr-id="21">Abdelkarim</g> told AFP that Assaad was executed by the jihadist group yesterday afternoon in Palmyra, in central Homs province.
“Daesh has executed one of Syria’s most important antiquities experts,” Abdelkarim said, using an Arabic acronym for IS.
“He was the head of antiquities in Palmyra for 50 years and had been retired for 13 years... He was 82 years old,” he added.
Abdelkarim said the former antiquities official’s body had been hung in the ancient ruins in Palmyra after being beheaded.
But the photo circulating online showed a body on a median strip of a main road, tied to what appeared to be a lamp post. A sign attached to the body identified it as that of Assaad.