Damascus, May 28 (IANS/AKI) An Islamic State (IS) commander in Palmyra has claimed the fanatical group will demolish "idolatrous" statues at the ancient Syrian city but will preserve the Unesco World Heritage archaeological site.
"Concerning the historic city, we will preserve it and it will not suffer damage, God willing," Abu Laith al-Saoudy told rebel radio station Alwan FM in an interview.
"But what we will do is pulverise statues that miscreants used to pray to. As for the historic monuments, we will not touch them with our bulldozers as some tend to believe."
A Britain-based watchdog and local activists in Palmyra reported on Wednesday that IS militants shot dead 20 men inside the site's Roman theatre and gathered local people to watch the execution.
The IS is accused of executing hundreds of people in and around Palmyra, including women and children, since it overran the oasis city last week.
--IANS/AKI
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