The so-called ’Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant’ (ISIL) takfiri group has blown up parts of the Temple of Bel in Syria’s ancient city of Palmyra.

The so-called 'Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant' (ISIL) takfiri group has blown up parts of the Temple of Bel in Syria's ancient city of Palmyra, a monitor and
activists said.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said late Sunday that the terrorist group had placed explosives inside the famed temple, at least partially destroying the building considered Palmyra's most significant.

Mohammad Hassan al-Homsi, an activist from Palmyra, also reported the partial destruction on Sunday night, a week after ISIL destroyed the Baal Shamin temple at the historic Greco-Roman site.

"They laid the explosives today, using booby-trapped boxes and barrels that were already prepared by ISIL," he said.

"This was the most important temple for tourists and for the people of Palmyra. They used to hold festivals there."

Homsi, who goes by a pseudonym, said the inner part of the temple was destroyed in the blast.

That destruction was first reported by activists and Abdelkarim, and later confirmed in images released by ISIL online.

ISIL mined the ancient site in June before destroying the Lion Statue of Athena outside the Palmyra museum.

Most of the pieces in the museum were evacuated by antiquities staff before ISIL occupied the city, though the terrorists have blown up several historic Muslim graves.