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Radio 4,3 mins

Palmyra destruction 'would be terrible'

Today

Available for over a year

Islamic State militants have destroyed Palmyra's ancient temple of Baalshamin, officials say. The temple was made of "significant substantial pieces of masonry" and would have required a "significant explosion", said Dr Amr Al-Azm, former director of conservation at Syria's ministry of Antiquities and Museums. The militants took control of Palmyra in May, sparking fears they might demolish the Unesco World Heritage site - the loss of which "would be terrible", said Dr Al-Azm.

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