'This barbaric group of people want to destroy everything': call for governments to protect cultural treasures

By Peter Munro
Updated December 3 2016 - 1:09am, first published 12:15am
Syrian scholar Khaled al-Asaad was executed by IS militants for refusing to reveal the location of cultural artefacts. Photo: Marc Deville
Syrian scholar Khaled al-Asaad was executed by IS militants for refusing to reveal the location of cultural artefacts. Photo: Marc Deville
Pulitzer Prize-winning author Geraldine Brooks has called for greater protection of cultural artefacts. Photo: Stuart Walmsley
Pulitzer Prize-winning author Geraldine Brooks has called for greater protection of cultural artefacts. Photo: Stuart Walmsley
Vandalism at the Palmyra Museum. Photo: SANA via AP
Vandalism at the Palmyra Museum. Photo: SANA via AP

Khaled al-Asaad was brought to the main square in a black van and beheaded before a small crowd. His body was then strung up from an ancient Roman column in the Syrian city of Palmyra, where he had worked for more than 50 years as head of antiquities. His head was placed on the ground between his feet, his dark-framed glasses still in place.

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